Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai'i
(The Life of the Land is Perpetuated in Righteousness)
If just for a day our king and queen
Would visit all these islands and saw everything
How would they feel about the changes of our land
Could you just imagine if they were around
And saw highways on their sacred grounds
How would they feel about this modern city life
Tears would come from each others eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our people are in great great danger now
How, would they feel, could their smiles be content, then cry
[Chorus:]
Cry for the gods, cry for the people
Cry for the land that was taken away
And then yet you'll find, Hawai'i
Could you just imagine they came back
And saw traffic lights and railroad tracks
How would they feel about this modern city life
Tears would come from each others eyes
As they would stop to realize
That our land is in great great danger now
All the fighting that the king had done
To conquer all these islands now these condominiums
How would he feel if he saw Hawai'i nei
How, would he feel, would his smile be content, then cry
[Chorus]
Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai'i
Ua mau, ke ea o ka aina, i ka pono, o Hawai'i
Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole (May 20, 1959 – June 26, 1997), also called Braddah IZ or just simply IZ, was a Native Hawaiian musician and singer. He achieved commercial success and popularity outside of Hawaii with his 1993 studio album, Facing Future. His medley of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" was released on his albums Ka ʻAnoʻi and Facing Future, and was subsequently featured in various media. The song has had 358 weeks on top of the World Digital Songs chart, making it the longest-leading number-one hit on any of the Billboard song charts. Kamakawiwoʻole is regarded as one of the greatest musicians from Hawaii and is the most successful musician from the state.
Along with his ukulele playing and incorporation of other genres, such as jazz and reggae, Kamakawiwoʻole remains influential on Hawaiian music. He was named "The Voice of Hawai‘i" by NPR in 2010.
