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Kordel Ng

Mr. Goto

English 12

24 January 2020

He Aloha Nu‘uanu- by Chad Takatsugi

I. Lyrics and Translation:

(Chad Takatsugi Music.”)

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II. Background Information:

This song is “written by Takatsugi’s wife, Lisa, “He Aloha Nu‘uanu” tells the story of their

beloved home in Nu‘uanu” (“PBS Hawai'i.”). It is a part of Chad Takatsugi’s “Ahuwale, released

in 2015” (“New Mele Honors Princess Pauahi”). This album was very popular especially among

Kamehameha because he wrote and composed mele’s honoring Pauahi. “On Oct. 7, 2015, “He

Wehi No Pauahi” launched on iTunes and hit No. 2 on the iTunes world music chart. “Ahuwale”

is available online and at music stores everywhere” (“New Mele Honors Princess Pauahi”). With

the help of his wife, Lisa, Chad Takatsugi was able to release this album with some original

composures of songs. There a lot of songs from this album that received a lot of recognition.

Although He Aloha Nu‘uanu wasn’t written in dedication to Pauahi, it became well known and

had “hula accompaniment from Lisa and her sister, Diane Paloma” (“New Mele Honors Princess

Pauahi”).

This song is speaking about the land and the love he has for it. Mainly, he talks about the things

that make the unique Nu‘uanu, Nu‘uanu. He also describes the things around Nu‘uanu like

kāwelu, wind-blown grass and the beauty of the lā‘ī, or ti leaf. “A midst the dancing kāwelu

grass in calm/Beautiful are the leaves of kī that shimmer” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”).

It is written about Nu‘uanu because it’s a significant place for them. “Beloved is Nu‘uanu to me”

(“Chad Takatsugi Music.”). Although this is a very personal song, it is about a place that many

people are familiar with and may have their own special connection with.
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This song is also significant in the hula industry, Chad states: “The audience that will respond

most to this project are those with whom the stories will resonate. The songs are about love,

caution, trust, betrayal, history and the future. Hula practitioners should also respond favorably

because of the hula-friendly approach to the music that celebrates the innate bond between mele

and hula” (“New Mele Honors Princess Pauahi”). He Aloha Nu‘uanu has a variety of beautifully

choreographed hula dances for the song.

III. Hawaiian Poetic Devices:

This mele displays the Hawaiian poetic device of Place Names. This song is honoring Nu‘uanu.

“Beloved is Nu‘uanu to me” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”). Chad Takatsugi also says, “Return to

Hānalakamalama/It is the shining beacon in sacred repose” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”). He is

writing about a place that is very special and meaningful to him. Elbert states, “Hawaiians

sayings also may be didactic. The two in the preceding paragraph seem to express resignation

and patience. Others, not didactic, describe emotional states or important events, but the largest

proportion show aloha ‘åina, ‘love for the land and the people of the land’ and this function, so

important in Hawai‘i” (118). Takatsugi expresses his love for the beauty and meaning of

Nu‘uanu that he is able to see. In the song he says, “Aloha ku‘u ‘āina/Aloha wale ē”, which

translates to “Beloved is my land/Beloved indeed” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”).

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The Hawaiian Poetic Device of Purpose/Intent is also shown in this mele. Dudoit writes,

“Contemporary Hawaiian art also reaches towards the past, but in order to translate our traditions

into the language of today” (22). In the mele He Aloha Nu‘uanu, Chad Takatsugi reflects on the

past by saying, “I am a descendant of Lanihuli” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”). He proceeds to

speak about the land and the connection he has with it. He says, “My land stretching out before

me is a treasure” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”). Takatsugi also says that “the backdrop of this Nā

Mele reflects how ancient and modern sensibilities can co-exist, with tropical flora and kalo

silhouettes set against a nighttime cityscape. Takatsugi echoes this sentiment, about the dynamic

nature of the Hawaiian culture” (“PBS Hawai‘i). He is purposely presenting the past of our

Hawaiian culture, identity, and how it impacts his current love for the land.

The hui of this mele is “Aloha ku‘u ‘āina/Aloha wale ē” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”). This is an

example of Tersness, where there are no verbs, and short phrases. Even though the song has

these short lines that show it, it is very important because it explains his personal connection

towards the land. We learn that “Hawaiian poetry for the most part consists of short, terse

carefully adjusted sentences; all matter that can be is thrown out that the principal idea may make

the stronger impression” (Elbert 11). This is exactly what Takatsugi was able to portray in his

short lines.

He Aloha Nu‘uanu fits the Hawaiian Poetic Device under the category of “songs honoring

places” (Elbert 16). “He Aloha Nu‘uanu” tells the story of their beloved home in Nu‘uanu”

(“PBS Hawai‘i). Nu‘uanu is in the title of the song because he is specifically singing about
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Nu‘uanu and nowhere else. “Written by Takatsugi’s wife, Lisa, “He Aloha Nu‘uanu” tells the

story of their beloved home in Nu‘uanu” (“PBS Hawai'i.”). He wanted to show the love and

adornment that he has for the land and sates, By honoring this specific place close to his heart,

“the audience that will respond most to this project are those with whom the stories will

resonate. The songs are about love, caution, trust, betrayal, history and the future” (“New Mele

Honors Princess Pauahi”).

There are zero end rhymes in this mele. Due to this, it exemplifies a poetic device called

Rejection of end Rhyme. Elbert states, “with so many homonyms, rhyming would have been

easy; it may be seen in the cruel missionary song ʻKuʻu ʻīlio’ A hypothesis is offered here that

rhyme may have been rejected because of the Hawaiian focus on initials” (11). This song focuses

on the real characteristics of Nu‘uanu that he finds important, not so much on what he can talk

about to create something that rhymes.

This mele displays Repetition: Linked Assonance, but through the repetition of meaning. For

example, “My land stretching pit before me is a treasure/Sweet is the voice that beckons/This is a

recitation for my land” (“Chad Takatsugi Music.”). In these lines, the words that are showing

repetition through meaning are stretching, beckons, voice, and recitation. These words were used

at least once in a line and then linked to the next one.

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Works Cited

“Chad Takatsugi Music.” Chad Takatsugi Music Added a New Photo. - Chad Takatsugi Music,

www.facebook.com/chadtakatsugimusic/photos/a.1116096408431560/1116096588431542/?

type=3&theater.

Dudoit, Mahealani. “Carving a Hawaiian Aesthetic” in Oiwi: A Native Hawaiian

Journal: Volume 1. Honolulu, HI: Kuleana Oiwi Press, 1998. Print

Elbert, Samuel H and Noelani Mahoe. Na Mele O Hawaii Nei: 101 Hawaiian Songs.

Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 1970. Print

Elbert, Samuel H. “Connotative Values of Hawaiian Place Names” in Place Names of

Hawaii. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press, 1976. Print

Ho‘omanawanui, Ku‘ualoha. “He Lei Ho‘oheno no nā Kau a Kau: Language, Performance, and

Form in Hawaiian Poetry”. The Contemporary Pacific, Volume 17, Number I, 29-81.

Honolulu, HI: University of Hawaii Press 2003. Print.

“New Mele Honors Princess Pauahi.” Kamehameha Schools,

www.ksbe.edu/imua/article/new-mele-honors-pauahi/.

“PBS Hawai'i.” NĀ MELE: TRADITIONS IN HAWAIIAN SONG Chad Takatsugi | PBS Hawai'i,

www.pbshawaii.org/na-mele-chad-takatsugi/.
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