Hoku Kea Liholani Pe'a from Ka'u Lyrics

You've heard of Duke and Akebono and maybe Bruno Mars

North shore Jack, Prez Barack and other island stars

But you may not know of a super star from the Big Island's Na'alehu

So, listen well as I tell the tale of the one they call Hoku

Hoku Kea Liholani Pe'a from Ka'u, the greatest fisherwoman the aina ever knew

From Miloli'i, Ka La'e and the beach at Punalu'u

She never met a fish she couldn't toss into a stew

Every day after school with her grandpa by her side

She learned the net, the line, the spear and where those fishies hide

From the beach or from the boat or jumping from the rocks

The locals say she never failed to fill the cooler box

At seventeen she was the queen of the big island's fishing scene

With money to spare and fish to share she was living the dream

Hoku Kea Liholani Pe'a from Ka'u

The greatest fisherwoman that the islands ever knew

From Kamilo, Honu'apo, and the beach at Papa Bay (hey)

Once she set her mind to catch, well they never get away

One summer a poke shop was launched in Pahala

With recipes oh so ono by Kimo Kanuha

Kimo was a gentle boy, some though he was Mahu

But when Hoku came to sell her tuna, Kimo said that he just knew

Her sunburnt brow and fearsome scowl made other boys afraid

But Kimo found his heart unbound in her ample shade

Hoku Kea Liholani Pe'a from Ka'u, the greatest fisherwoman the Kanaka ever knew

From Ho'okena, Pohue, and Papa'kolea

Hoku caught the fish and Kimo diced and served them up

Ulua Nui Tutu Kane was a legend in the south

400 pounds of demon fish, no hook ever touch his mouth

One day she saw him swimming from the cliffs at Ka la'e

Hoku grabbed here three prong and chased him most of the day

Later stories were varied and scattered depending on the source

But two drunk uncles in a dinghy swear, she rode him like a horse

Hoku Kea Liholani Pe'a from Ka'u, the greatest fisherwoman that Hawai'i ever knew

Kahili Pali, Pebble Beach and the coast at Ninole

Hoku, Kimo and the keiki still fishing there today

Hoku Kea Liholani Pe'a from Ka'u, the greatest fisherwoman that the islands ever knew