Aloha Kahoʻolawe - Inez Ashdown, Pilahi Paki & Irmgard Farden Aluli
E ō mai e Kahoʻolawe
Moku o ka Pākīpika
Ku a moana a na kai
Ke ala no i Kahiki
ʻO ʻoe no kaʻu i aloha
Kaʻike ʻana i nā moku lana
Hoʻolana nei kuʻu aloha
Ke aloha no o na kai

Kula ʻula o Moaʻula
Nā awawa o Kamohio
Naʻale kai o Kanapou
Kuʻu ʻāina i aloha ai
Maluna au o ka lio holo
Ka ʻike aku ia liʻulana
Hoʻopa mai o ka Moaʻe
Ka makani o ka ʻāina

Aloha no ʻoe e Kahoʻolawe
Moku o ka Pākīpika
Kaulana no kou inoa
I kakau a nā kanaka
Haʻina nā pua lei nā mamo
O nā moku o Hawaiʻi nei
Hoʻopaʻa mai ʻoe i ke aloha
Ke aloha ku paʻa o ka ʻāina

Respond O Kahoʻolawe
Isle in the Pacific
Surrounded by the ocean
There lies the passage to Tahiti
It is you that I love
As I observe the floating ships
They comfort my love
And admiration for the sea

Reddened plains of Moaʻula
The gulches of Kamohio
The billow of Kanapou
The land I love
I ride on a swift horse
As I look toward the setting sun
The Moaʻe breeze caresses me
The wind of that land

Aloha to you, O Kahoʻolawe
Isle in the Pacific
Well-known is your name to all
Inherited by all the people
The children, heirs and descendants
Of all the islands of Hawaiʻi
Fixed love for it is within you
Steadfast love for the land

Source: In 1963, Inez Ashdown was reminiscing of her experiences on Kahoʻolawe. Pilahi Paki translated the English into Hawaiian and Irmgard set it to music, a song composed in one day. © Criterion Music Corp