Loving Lyrics

During her eight-month imprisonment at ‘Iolani Palace, Lili‘uokalani penned “Ku‘u Pua I Paoakalani,” an ode to her principal estate, Paoakalani, in Waikīkī. It was built on her lands in the district of Hamohamo, which ran inland from Kalākaua Avenue to what is now the Ala Wai Canal. (On a present-day map, that’s approximately between Lili‘uokalani and ‘Ōhua Avenues, near Paoakalani Street.) 

“Hamohamo is justly considered to be the most lifegiving and healthy district in the whole extent of the island of O‘ahu,” she wrote in her memoir, 
Hawai‘i’s Story By Hawai‘i’s Queen. “There is something unexplainable and peculiar in the atmosphere of that place, which seldom fails to bring back the glow of health to the patient, no matter what disease suffering.”

Lili‘uokalani had much affection for her land at Hamohamo, which is forever etched in her song: “‘Ike mau i ka nani o nā pua, O ka uka o Uluhaimalama, ‘a‘ole na‘e ho‘i e like, me ku‘u pua i ka la‘i o Paoakalani.” (“I’ve often seen those beauteous flowers that grew at Uluhaimalama, but none of those could be compared to my flowers that blooms in the fields of Paoakalani.”)

“Nani Nā Pua Ko‘olau” is a love song composed by Lili‘uokalani in 1860 at the age of 22. The romantic song, which she published in both Hawaiian and English, describes the beautiful flowers of Ko‘olau and the search for the “fairest of all fair ones”—the ‘ōhi‘a lehua. “The lehua flower whose ardent sweetness, overpowers the wanderer over the lea, and I cry ‘Where are you, my loved one,’ my spirit wants to be with you,” 
the song yearns.

Lili‘uokalani’s life at the time included suitors from William Lunalilo to John Dominis, whose proposal she accepted the same year she wrote the song. (She married Dominis two years later.) This tribute to nature and the desire to find a lehua blossom mirrors the longing between two lovers, and the bliss felt when reunited.


Nestled below Mount Olomana, the fertile wet land of Maunawili is the backdrop for Lili‘uokalani’s composition “Aloha ‘Oe” (“Farewell To Thee”). In the 19th century, people traveled by horseback from Honolulu to the windward side through Nu‘uanu Valley and over the Nu‘uanu Pali, or by way of Waimānalo through Maunawili, which is what the royal party 
did on several occasions.

At Maunawili, Lili‘uokalani often visited the estate of the Boyds, a prominent Hawaiian-British family. 
It was during one such visit in 1878 that the 
then-princess was inspired by an affectionate farewell between Colonel James Boyd of her party and a young woman from Maunawili. 

On the journey back to Honolulu, Lili‘uokalani formulated the words and melody of “Aloha ‘Oe” in her head. With the lyrics “one fond embrace, until 
we meet again,” it would become one of Hawai‘i’s most famous songs. 

Royal residences were not uncommon in Kapālama.
The area was farmed by Kamehameha I to provide for his people, and the land was handed down to his descendants. In 1884, Lili‘uokalani, then a princess, 
was excited to buy a piece of property next to Princess Ruth Ke‘elikolani’s Kapālama residence. She spent months upgrading her new home and planting gardens that included roses.  

After moving in, she wrote the song “Nohea I Mu‘olaulani” to praise the estate she affectionately named Mu‘olaulani, which means “innumerable royal buds.” Mu‘olaulani is now the approximate site 
of Mayor Wright Homes between King Street and 
Vineyard Boulevard.