The songs of Scott Hai

On any given day, you'll likely hear "Ahulili" on a Hawaiian radio station. The song, by Kaupo native Scott Hai, is regarded as a Hawaiian classic; Amazon Music contains dozens of versions.

However, Hai wrote many songs besides "Ahulili". Some of Hai's songs are available in sources such as the Huapala.org Hawaiian music site, but others are nearly unknown.

Hai's life

The details of Hai's life are scarce, but there is some limited information from Census records as well as other sources.

According to records from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Hai was born in Kaupo on September 17, 1873. This date is supported by Census records from 1910, 1920 and 1930, although the 1900 Census and 1940 Census records indicate alternate birth years of 1863 and 1886, respectively. Hai's full name was Winnie Boniface Scott Hai.

In the 1920s, Kaupo resident Joseph Marciel, a contemporary of Hai, recorded a genealogy that traces Hai's ancestors back to a shark goddess named Kanewahine from Tahiti. According to Marciel, Kanewahine's daughter Kaohu and a man named Haole had a daughter named Kaniho. Kaniho and a man named Wahinekuewa had a son named Kawai. Kawai and a woman named Hawaii were the parents of Hai.

Hai died on June 25, 1949 and was buried in Waihee in central Maui (again according to LDS records). Although Census records list Hai as a Kaupo resident from 1900-1940, he evidently moved to Waihee near the end of his life, which is reflected in a number of songs about central Maui.

Sometime in the late 1800s, Hai married Lucy Kekuihe Pilialoha. Lucy may have passed away young, since Hai married again in 1907, to Elizabeth Nani Piimauna Nohua. Elizabeth died in the Kaulapapa leprosy colony in 1928. Between his two wives, Hai had six sons and three daughters.

Hai occasionally penned newspaper articles, including an obituary in 1913 and accounts of gatherings at the Catholic church in Kaupo in 1921 and 1932. In 1914, he served on the committee for the Kaupo baseball club.

For work, in 1900, Hai made a living as a taro farmer, according to Census records. He was in charge of the government pound in Kaupo from 1907 to 1919. Hai was working as a road laborer in 1920 and had moved up to road foreman by 1930, according to Census records. Only in the 1940 Census did Hai finally identify his occupation as composer, even though he had been writing songs long before that point. Hai may have reported his occupation as composer since he was retired and so no longer had a "real" job, but perhaps he finally felt ready to claim the title.

Which brings us to Hai's songs. Nine songs survive that are attributed to him:

1. Ahulili
2. Pamano
3. Na Mamo o Kamehameha
4. Ka Ua Apuakea
5. Maui o Kama
6. Song of Maui
7. Aloha no Kahului
8. No Na Wai Eha
9. Pohihihi

The list above is arranged in order of songs associated with Kaupo and East Maui (numbers 1-4), songs about central Maui and Maui in general (numbers 5-8), and a song about Kauai (number 9). The order may be roughly chronological as well, since Hai probably composed the songs about central Maui after moving there in his later years.

The sources for Hai's songs are primarily the following:

• Irene Murakami. Murakami was born to Joseph and Josephine Marciel in Kaupo in 1918 and so was a generation younger than Hai. She performed music throughout her life, and her files contain lyrics and sheet music of many of Hai's songs.
• Mina Atai. Atai (born in 1916) was Murakami's older sister. Well into her 80s, Atai would keep sheet music of Hai's songs in her purse to offer to musicians at parties or even on the street. Atai also made personal recordings of some of Hai's lesser-known songs.
• Huapala.org. A number of Hai's songs are collected on this site dedicated to preserving Hawaiian music.

Ahulili

There are multiple versions of this song about Ahulili hill, high in the mountains of Kaupo (although there are obviously layers of metaphor). The version above is what appears to be the original lyrics, according to Kaupo natives familiar with the song. The translation comes primarily from Huapala.org, with the translation of the final verse from the songbook He Mele Aloha.

Handwritten lyrics from Irene Murakami indicate that the first section of the song is the chorus, followed by four verses.

Tellingly, Maui musician Willie K performed a version of "Ahulili" inspired by his father. In the version (below), Willie K skips the chorus and starts with the first verse.

Historian Mary Kawena Pukui spoke with Kaupo residents about the song during a visit to Kaupo in December 1961 and also offered insight into the meaning of the lyrics:

A variation of the song contains an alternate final verse that echoes the chorus at the beginning of the song, ending with these lines:

Pamano

The translation above is by the site author, with assistance from Nakilihau Tanaka and Akoni Akana.

Pamano was the hero in an ancient Hawaiian legend. Multiple versions of the tale appeared in Hawaiian-language newspapers between the 1860s and the 1930s. According to the legend, Pamano's favorite pastime was surfing at Mokulau.

Unlike "Ahulili", the song "Pamano" is virtually unknown. Fortunately, Mina Atai recorded the song before passing away, thus preserving the melody.

Na Mamo o Kamehameha

"Na Mamo o Kamehameha" comes from the files of Irene Murakami. The translation is by Nakilihau Tanaka, with slight editing by the site author. The melody is unknown.

The song travels west to east through a number of places on the Kaupo-Kipahulu border (Nuanualoa, Kalepa, Alelele, Lelekea, and Kukuiula).

Ka Ua Apuakea

"Ka Ua Apuakea" is the final song here about East Maui. The song comes from the files of Irene Murakami, and the translation is by the site author. The melody is unknown.

Each verse in "Ka Ua Apuakea" refers to a different area of East Maui. In Verse 1, the "rain of the low sky" and "Apuakea rain" are poetic references to Hana. In Verse 2, the "love-snatching wind" refers to Kipahulu. In Verse 3, the "wind famous for kissing the cheek" refers to Kaupo. All of these terms of endearment were commonly used in Hai's time.

Maui o Kama

The lyrics and translation of "Maui o Kama" come from Huapala.org. Mina Atai made a recording of the song, preserving the melody.

Song of Maui

The lyrics and translation of "Song of Maui" come from Huapala.org. The song is also referred to as "Mele o Maui". Hai notated the melody in a manuscript in the 1940s:

Aloha no Kahului

"Aloha no Kahului" comes from the files of Irene Murakami, and the translation is by the site author. The melody is unknown.

No Na Wai Eha

The lyrics and translation of "No Na Wai Eha" come from Huapala.org. The melody is nearly identical to "Ahulili". Na Wai Eha, or the "Four Waters", refers to the region of central Maui that includes the towns of Waikapu, Wailuku, Waiehu and Waihee. In Verse 5, Lele is an ancient name of Lahaina town.

Pohihihi

The origin of "Pohihihi" is the most mysterious, which is fitting since that is the English translation of the title. An unknown musician brought lyrics for this song to a gathering in Kaupo around 2008, where the site author made a copy. The translation is by the site author. The melody was not recorded, but evidently there are people alive who still know the tune.

The song is a departure from all of Hai's previous songs in that Maui is not the subject. Makauwahi Cave is on the southern coast of Kauai, and Kapalaoa is a peak in the center of the island.