Seasons of the Ukulele

A weekly song challenge for ukulele players - all welcome. Find out more here

Season 679 ~ Aloha

Mezcalero

Welcome, Seasonistas, to Season 679!

If you are new here: If you’ve never participated in the Seasons of the Ukulele before, first and foremost, WELCOME. Regardless of what your level of experience playing is we invite you to participate here. The goal is to have fun and share a diverse variety of music that fits in with the weekly theme. If this is your first time to particiapate here on the Seasons, you may play ANYTHING YOU LIKE for your first submission. You’ll find the people here to be friendly, warm, supportive, and fun.

For the regulars and those who have participated as time allows, this week's theme is Aloha! I'm going to defer to Wikipedia on this as it is not as simple a word as it may seem to those of us who are not Hawaiian. As long as you can tie your song to anything covered here you're good to go. I want to clarify, that while Hawaiian songs are most welcome, they are not required. You'll see that Aloha means many different things and this passage gives an example:

Lorrin Andrews wrote the first Hawaiian dictionary, called A Dictionary of the Hawaiian Language.[7]^ In it, he describes aloha as "A word expressing different feelings: love, affection, gratitude, kindness, pity, compassion, grief, the modern common salutation at meeting; parting"

Here is the link to Wikipedia for a more in depth description:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aloha#:\~:text=Aloha%20(%2F%C9%99ˈlo%CA%8A,force%20that%20holds%20together%20existence.

Some regular guidelines

* The uke should be prominently featured. It doesn't matter how many string your uke has, so guilleles welcome!

* The video must be recorded specifically for this week and specify it is for SOTU 679. (The usual exceptions apply.

* In keeping with tradition here, please limit your submissions to the usual Hawaiian times.

* This week, there is no limit to the number of entries you may submit

* Original songs are always welcome.

* Collaborations are also most welcome.

* Please invite others to join in the fun. ~ All are welcome ~

I'll put a song list up once I see the first few entries roll in:

Playlist

TCK

“The word aloha is hard to translate into any other language because it comprises complex ways of being and of interacting with and loving all of creation. An ethic of care and respect for all people and all elements of the land is wrapped up in aloha; it is a way of showing connection and reverence”

I know that at least one Seasonista did not like that I wore my politics on my sleeve on the old spot, and posted about it. Get hurt snowflake (because Aloha also defends itself)…I am so down for this! Hope to drop a few here. Gonna be a great season for sure.

joo

Thanks for hosting, Kev!

I think the paragraph Dave (TCK) quoted perfectly describes this Chinese song I covered for your Season.

It is a Chinese song I heard as a kid. I love this song. Music and words by 李泰祥 Li Tai-Hsiang. I think it was written in 1979.

Here are the lyrics in English:

At dusk, I walk to a small stream and see a beautiful girl, pure and lovely.

Lub-dub…lub-dub.. I can feel my heart beating loudly. I can’t help but ask her, the story of Spring.

She shakes her head and smiles at me, then gives me a small Penstemon flower.

LimousinLil

Hello, Kev, and thanks for hosting! I was intrigued to read about the significance of "Aloha". I hope no one is offended with this take on what is, indeed, a song of peace and love. The World was a far more peaceful and stable place when George Harrison wrote these hopeful lyrics in 1973 than it is now in 2025 and I truly believe that we have gone past the point where we can fail to acknowledge what is occurring. It goes without saying that World events in no way diminish the feelings of friendship, respect and appreciation that we have for one another here on the Seasons. My love to you All, and yes … Aloha!

dr_mitch

Hmm, there seem to be quite a few Beatles and post-Beatles songs which fit the theme (or that might just be where my mind went). Here's one.

Mezcalero

Thanks to Joo, Val and Paul for getting us rolling! I've made a playlist and hopefully the link works ~

Mezcalero

TCK This paragraph stood out to me as well Dave. Look forward to hear what you bring brother ~

AlanDP

I did this one before, about 200 weeks ago. From a book of songs about Hawaii, all written by Alex Anderson, who was born and grew up in Hawaii, and as far as I can tell lived there his whole life except when he was on the mainland going to college and when he served as a fighter pilot in WW2.

LimousinLil

Mezcalero Hi, Kev! I don't think the link is working … assuming that one is supposed to click on Joo's song. This is all that comes up. (Wendy is the World authority on setting up the Playlist link if you're stuck).

Mezcalero

LimousinLil Thanks for the heads up Val. I've tried a different approach, hopefully it's working now. Let me know if you still can't access it.

Cheers, kev

LimousinLil

Mezcalero No, it's still not working, Kev! Somewhere, I've got the instructions that Wendy gave me … I'll try to find them.

UkeFoote

"Suite Judy Blue Eyes", by Crosby, Stills, and Nash, for concert ukulele with singing and shaker, overdubs of Ashbory Ubass and secondary vocal. Thanks for hosting, Kev… I reckon this one has just about every emotion mentioned in the definition in your op.

Bystander

LimousinLil

Mezcalero After extensive research on the "old" Forum, I found Wendy's "tutorial". I've referred to it on the site here and it still works. (Remember, you need to make the Playlist "public")

Mezcalero

Thanks so much Val and Wendy! While I'm embarrassed to say I doubted the steps would work, it worked exactly as described. I think it's good to go now.

And thanks for the entries flowing in from Alan, Brian and Graham! Cheers ~

CanadaJim

LET'S TALK DIRTY IN HAWAIIAN - John Prine & Fred Koller

Not really so much a Hawaiian song as a song about Hawaii, and not really in Hawaiian, but an onomatopoeia version of Hawaiian.

Mezcalero

Thanks Jim! Although didn't mention it, this is one of the first songs that came to mind that I thought could bring some lighthearted fun to this weeks Kanikapila! Cheers ~

UkeCan1

I picked this for its twofer value. I'm not sure couple love is an aloha kind of love, but this is basically a less whimsical version of the same story as Jim's song. And it does paint a kind of aloha vision of the Aloha State.

With a blue sunset sky behind me, on a Tiki King Flea ukulele (from Massachusetts, with a Hawaiian design), and of course the usual cockatoo chorus upstaging both of us.

"Blue Hawaii" by Elvis

YorkSteve

I think this one fits the bill. From Frank Turner.

CanadaJim

Ukulele Lady - Gus Kahn & Richard A. Whiting - 1925

I learned this from an Arlo Guthrie LP - Ukulele Hula Lady courtesy Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum