Sarah Brightman - Hawai'i '78

How would they feel?
Would their smiles turn to tears, then why?
How would they feel?
Would their smiles be content, then cry?

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

How would they feel?
Would their smiles be content, then cry?

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

Ua Mau ke Ea o ka 'Āina,
i ka Pono, 'o Hawai'i.
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka 'Āina,
i ka Pono, 'o Hawai'i.
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka 'Āina,
i ka Pono, 'o Hawai'i.
Ua Mau ke Ea o ka 'Āina,
i ka Pono, 'o Hawai'i.

Music and lyrics: Israel "IZ" Ka'ano'i Kamakawiwo'ole

From: Dreamchaser -- Deluxe edition (2013)

Source of the lyrics: thanks to FuFu, with corrections by me and Ferdinand Chevalier.

note
The Hawaiian line uses the character "Ā" (A-macron, an A with a '-' over it): "... o ka 'Āina ...". This special character, however, has a non-standard HTML character number and may thus not show up properly in some browsers.

 
The original of the song is by the Hawaiian musician & songwriter
Israel "IZ" Ka'ano'i Kamakawiwo'ole (1959-1997); see page at Wikipedia.
That page writes about the song:

Kamakawiwo'ole was known for promoting Hawaiian rights and Hawaiian independence, both through his lyrics, which often stated the case for independence directly, and his life. His song Hawai'i '78 demonstrates the beliefs and hopes that he had for the people of Hawai'i: the life of this land is the life of the people, and that to care for the land (malama 'âina) is to care for the Hawaiian culture. The state motto of Hawai'i is a recurring line in the song and encompasses the meaning of Iz's message: Ua Mau ke Ea o ka 'Āina i ka Pono (proclaimed by King Kamehameha III when Hawai'i regained sovereignty in 1843. Roughly translated: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness).

from: Wikipedia; 12 April 2013.

You can hear the song here and here.

 
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created: 12 April 2013
last modified: 14 April 2013