Pua wale mai nô ke aloha

Ka paia puîa i ke`ala

I ka wai hu'ihu'i aniani

Ko`iawe ka huila wai

Aia i laila ka `i`ini

Ka `ano`i a ko`u pu`uwai

Hui:

Old Plantation nani `oe

Home pumehana i ke aloha

I ka `olu o ka niu

I ka poli o ke onaona

Nahenahe ke `ala o na pua

I ka pe `ia e ke kehau

Ho`ola`i na manu i laila

Ho`oipo i ke oho o ka niu

Luhe `ehu ka palai i ka nu`a

I ka `olu o ka Old Plantation

Love and affection ever rise

For the fragrance of flowers I adore

Bubbling water, sparkling and refreshing

Come from yonder water wheel
The charms and pleasures I hold dear

A spot that is dear to my heart

Chorus:
Old Plantation, how beautiful you are
Home ever warm with love
In the shade of the waving palms
In the bosom of fragrance

Softly-scented are the flowers

Moistened by the touch of dew

It is there that birds find solace

And romance among the coconut fronds

Palai ferns lean and bend in abundance

In the pleasant surroundings of Old Plantation

Source: Victoria Robinson married Curtis Ward, a personal friend of Kamehmeha IV in 1865. Old Plantation was their elegant home at the corner of King St. and Ward Ave., present site of the Neal Blaisdell Center. The home, built in 1880, was part of the vast 100 acre Ward Estate with streams, fish ponds, a water wheel and private school. The Wards and their seven daughters were intimate friends of Hawaiian royalty and loyal supporters of the monarchy. When the last of the reclusive Ward sistesr, living at Old Plantation, died in 1958, the City & County of Honolulu purchased the mauka section of the estate for more than $2 million. Mrs. Montano was a close friend of the Ward family and it is said that David Nape wrote this song in about half an hour. Copyright 1938, 66 EMI Miller - Music clip by Lani Lee