by Leilehua Yuen
Had a hula maiden ʻbout five foot four,
She could do the ʻamiʻami and a whole lot more
She could do an ʻuehe and ʻoniu, too
Never, ever made me feel all blue
ʻTill one night we were walkin’ ‘round in Hōnaunau
And she saw a hula boy a cookin’ laulau
He could play the ʻukulele, he could throw a net, too
And by that night, I had the hula blues
My pretty little hula maiden ran away
So she could play with his ʻukulele
She would tune his strings and never fret
If you go there tonight, you can see them yet
So all of you gals, and all of you guys
Careful when you see a pair of hula thighs
Keep your eyes on her hands, stay off her grass
And when the hula maids kaholo, just let them pass
I donʻt want more hula maiden no more
Next time I’ll get me three or four!
Except for a very fortunate few, most musicians donʻt make much money. But I do love to give presents to my friends. So, I would write them songs. Whenever we would ask my dear friend, Big Johnny D, what he wanted for his birthday, Christmas, etc., he would say, “All I want is one-uh them there hula gals.” So, I wrote this song for him. He has passed on since then, and I miss him. Rest in peace, dear friend.
~Leilehua