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

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

SCORE AL 008

1912

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.

Hawaiian Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library

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