Aloha Oe Farewell to Thee / Words and Music by H.M. Queen Liliuokalani.

Title

Aloha Oe Farewell to Thee / Words and Music by H.M. Queen Liliuokalani.

Reference Number

SCORE AL 008

Creator

Date

1912

Format

Description

Written in 1877 or 1878 by Queen Liliÿuokalani but transcribed during the period of her 10-month house arrest (1895-1896), “Aloha Oe,” (Farewell To Thee) can be read as both a love song and a statement of Hawaiian sovereignty. In the years since its composition, it has been adopted, adapted, revised and/or plagiarized for a variety of purposes: Jack London used the title for a short story about a doomed love affair between a mid-western girl and a Hawaiian boy; Elvis Presley sang a version in the film Blue Hawaii.
Dating from 1908 through 1940, the various editions of “Aloha Oe” sheet music held by UH-Mänoa’s Hamilton Library document America’s increasing fascination with the Hawaiian Islands following annexation and leading up to World War II.

Is Part Of

Hawaiian Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library

Page Location

25