Hawaiʻi ’78 Songtext
von Israel Kamakawiwoʻole

Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai′i
Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai'i
(The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness)

If just for a day our king and queen
Would visit all these islands and saw everything
How would they feel about the changes of our land

Could you just imagine if they were around
And saw highways on their sacred grounds
How would they feel about this modern city life

Tears would come from each others eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our people are in great great danger now
How, would they feel, could their smiles be content, then cry

Chorus:


Cry for the gods, cry for the people
Cry for the land that was taken away
And then yet you′ll find, Hawai'i

Could you just imagine they came back
And saw traffic lights and railroad tracks
How would they feel about this modern city life

Tears would come from each others eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our land is in great great danger now

All the fighting that the king had done
To conquer all these islands now these condominiums
How would he feel if he saw Hawai'i nei
How, would he feel, would his smile be content, then cry

Chorus

Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai′i
Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai′i