E Liliʻu E for Liliʻuokalani
In this video we’ll look at a traditional Hawaiian folk song, the melody “Liliʻu E” written for Queen Liliʻuokalani. Queen Liliʻuokalani was the last monarch to sit on the throne of Hawaiʻi and so this song of praise is an important cultural artifact. Liliʻu E is sometimes called “the Queenʻs Hula.”
Originally written by hula master Antone “Akoni” Kaoʻo (d. 1928), the song was put to its swaying melody by John Kaulia. Its lyrics speak of the beauty of the queen and of her name as the “crowning glory” of Hawaiʻi.
Here are the lyrics in full:
Hawaiian:
Ē Lilʻu ē
Noho nani mai
Kō kino ē
Kiʻi milimili
Kō maka ē
Nōweo nei
Kō papālina
Ē kukū ana
Kō poʻohiwi
Ani peʻahi
Kō poli ê
Nahenahe wale
Hawaiian:
Kō kuli ē
Nuku moi ʻoe
Kō wāwae
Pahu aʻe i luna
Haʻina ʻia mai
Ana ka puana
Ē Liliʻu ē
E noho nani mai
Ē ō ē Liliʻu
I kou inoa
Ka hae kalaunu
O Hawaiʻi nei
English:
O Liliʻu
Sitting so beautifully
Your person
We fondly touch
Your eyes
Sparkle
Your cheeks
Stand out
Your shoulders
Wave like a fan
Your bosom
Is so soft
English:
Your knees
Like a moi fish nose
Your feet
Are lifted up
Tell
The refrain
Of Liliʻu
Sitting beautifully
Answer, Liliʻu
To your name
The crowning glory
Of Hawaiʻi
E Liliʻu E for Fingerstyle Ukulele
Want to hear what this Hawaiian song for Liliʻuokalani sounds like on ukulele? Jeffʻs arrangement for fingerstyle ukulele uses re-entrant or high G tuning. This is a popular tuning for Hawaiian music on ukulele.
Download the Score + TAB of E Liliʻu E
Chords
The chords are really simple, as there are really only two chords throughout: E7, A.
First, letʻs get really comfortable with those two chords, the I (A) and the V chord (E7). Once you can switch comfortably with your left hand between those two chords, weʻll add some strums. The song has a swing feel, which is like lazy eighth notes. Remember to use subdivision to help you with the triplet feel of the rhythms. Just relax your wrist and rotate your forearm strumming your index finger along the strings.
Melody
To really get the most out of this song, now letʻs add the melody. Weʻll move back and forth between plucking the melody with i-m alternation (and using the thumb on the fourth string) and chord strums with the thumb. At the end of the melody we add a Hawaiian vamp.
Variations
Because we repeat the same two chords so many times in this piece, we can start to add in variations. We might add runs that go with the E7 chord. Or we can play some moving chord shapes that lead us from one chord to another. Weʻll look more at how to play with harmonic progressions in other lessons.
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