`Ulili E - by George Keahi & Naope


Hui:
`Ulili ê (ahahana `ulili ehehene `ulili ahahana)
`Ulili ho`i (ehehene `ulili ahahana `ulili ehehene)
`Ulili holoholo kahakai ê
Oia kai ua lana mâlie

Hone ana ko leo e `ulili ê
O kahi manu noho `ae kai
Kia`i ma ka lae a`o kekaha
`Oia kai ua lana mâlie

Hone ana ko leo ko lea ê
Pehea `o Kahiki? Maika`i nô
`Oia `âina `uluwehiwehi
`I hui pû `ia me ke onaona

Chorus:
The sandpiper (tra la la la)
The sandpiper returns (tra la la la)
Sandpiper runs along the beach
Where the sea is peaceful and calm
 
The sandpiper's voice is soft and sweet
Little bird of the sea foam
Ever watchful on the beaches
Where the sea is calm
 
The sandpiper's voice is soft and sweet
How is your foreign home? It is fine
A land full of charm
The shells sing their sweet chorus of song

Source: J. Kanoa Martin - This verse is the only extant part of an old mele about birds and their calls, that migrate to Hawaii. The ulili, wandering tattler (heteroscelus incanum) or sandpiper breeds in Alaska and the Yukon and migrates to Hawaii in the winter. Translated by Kaiu Kanoa. Edited by Dr. Barbara Price, Copyright Criterion Music Corp