Beauty Hula - John K. Almeida, John Noble & Latouche

Hoʻoheno kēia no beauty
Kuʻu hoa i ka ua Tuahine
ʻEā ē, ʻeā ē
Ka ua Tuahine

I laila hoʻi au lā ʻike
I ka uʻi o ka pua miulana
ʻEā ē, ʻeā ē
Ka pua miulana

Kau nui koʻu manaʻo
E inu a kena ia wai
ʻEā ē, ʻeā ē
A kena ia wai

Nāu i hehi kū ia kapu
Ia pua nani a ke kūpuna
ʻEā ē, ʻeā ē
A ke kūpuna

No Puna ke ʻala onaona
He ʻala hoene i kuʻu poli
ʻEā ē, ʻeā ē
Hoene i kuʻu poli

Haʻina ʻia mai ka puana
Kuʻu ipo i ka ua Tuahine
ʻEā ē, ʻeā ē
Ka ua Tuahine
This beauty is cherished
My companion in the Tuahine rain
Tra la la la
The Tuahine rain

I see her there
The beautiful miulan blossom
Tra la la la
The muilan blossom

My great desire is
To drink this water until satisfied
Tra la la la
The water that satisfies

You are the special one
The beautiful flower of your grandparents
Tra la la la
Of your grandparents

From Puna the fragrance is wafted
Here, the fragrance is taken into my bosom
Tra la la la
My bosom

Tell the refrain
My sweetheart in the Tuahine rain
Tra la la la
The Tuahine rain


Source: Noble's Hawaiian Hulas - Tuahine is the gentle, misty rain of Mānoa. Muilana is the flower of the champak tree, especially fragrant at night. The flower is usually associated with a sweetheart of Asian descent, the champak tree coming from the Himalayas. Kapu in the 4th verse would mean that the companion was an only child or the eldest child, hence dedicated to the grandparents but not necessarily hanaʻi (given) to them. Hanaʻi, the Polynesian tradition of giving a child to another to raise, is not associated with Asian cultures.
Hawaiian Text edited by Puakea Nogelmeier © Renewal, 1963 Miller Music Corp