"Aloha ʻOe" is Liliʻuokalani's most famous song and a common cultural Leitmotif

Leitmotif

A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...

 for Hawaii

Hawaii

Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...

. The song was inspired by a horseback trip she took in 1877 to the windward side of Oʻahu

Oahu

Oahu or Oahu , known as "The Gathering Place", is the third largest of the Hawaiian Islands and most populous of the islands in the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is located on the southeast coast...

. After visiting the Boyd ranch in Maunawili, Liliʻuokalani witnessed a farewell embrace between Colonel James Harbottle Boyd and one of the young ranch ladies.

This tender farewell set Lili`uokalani to thinking, and she began humming to herself on the homeward trip. Overhearing, Charles Wilson observed, "That sounds like The Lone Rock by the Sea," a comment with which Lili`uokalani is said to have agreed. When the party paused to rest in an orange grove on the Honolulu side of the Pali, the others joined in the hummings, and the song was completed later at Washington Place

Washington Place

Washington Place is a Greek Revival palace in the Hawaii Capital Historic District in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was where Queen Liliuokalani was arrested during the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom. Later it became the official residence of the Governor of Hawaii. It is a National Historic Landmark,...

.

Haʻaheo ka ua i nā pali	Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs
Ke nihi aʻela i ka nahele	As it glided through the trees
E hahai (uhai) ana paha i ka liko	Still following ever the bud
Pua ʻāhihi lehua o uka	The ʻāhihi lehua of the vale
Hui:	Chorus:
Aloha ʻoe, aloha ʻoe	Farewell to thee, farewell to thee
E ke onaona noho i ka lipo	The charming one who dwells in the shaded bowers
One fond embrace,	One fond embrace,
A hoʻi aʻe au	'Ere I depart
Until we meet again	Until we meet again
ʻO ka haliʻa aloha i hiki mai	Sweet memories come back to me
Ke hone aʻe nei i	Bringing fresh remembrances
Kuʻu manawa	Of the past
ʻO ʻoe nō kaʻu ipo aloha	Dearest one, yes, you are mine own
A loko e hana nei	From you, true love shall never depart
Hui	Chorus
Maopopo kuʻu ʻike i ka nani	I have seen and watched your loveliness
Nā pua rose o Maunawili	The sweet rose of Maunawili
I laila hiaʻia nā manu	And 'tis there the birds of love dwell
Mikiʻala i ka nani o ka lipo	And sip the honey from your lips
Hui	Chorus

Musicologist Sigmund Spaeth

Sigmund Spaeth

Sigmund Gottfried Spaeth was a musicologist who traced the sources and origins of popular songs to their folk and classical roots...

 noted that the first two measures of the melody of the chorus (which are arpeggiated IV-I chords) resemble the chorus of George Frederick Root

George Frederick Root

George Frederick Root was an American songwriter, who found particular fame during the American Civil War.-Biography:...

's 1854 song "There's Music In The Air", but measures 3 and 4 differ from it. The chorus of the popular 1954 song "Open Up Your Heart (And Let the Sunshine In)

Open up Your Heart (and Let the Sunshine in)

"Open up Your Heart " is a popular song. It was written by Stuart Hamblen. The song was published in 1954.The biggest hit version in the United States was a recording by the Cowboy Church Sunday School ; in the United Kingdom, by Joan Regan and her son Rusty...

" also begins with the same melodic motif.

The song "The Rock Beside The Sea" referred to was published by Charles Crozat Converse in 1857, and itself derives from a Croatian folk song, "Sedi Mara Na Kamen Studencu" (Girl On The Rock). Its melodic resemblance is to the first measure of Aloha `Oe, diverging from it after that.