I teach a brother and sister at Karate Job; the older brother is one of my special needs students, and his younger sister is quiet and fierce. Their grandparents moved to Southern California to be close to their grand-kids. We got to talking one day, and it came out that they are from a neighborhood close-by to where my dad grew up in Hawai’i. We chat every time they come in. Once I brought my ukulele in to practice before class, and the grandfather mentioned that he teaches Hawai’ian guitar, and is looking for students. Then he took my ukulele and played a little tune. He said he’d bring me a songbook, and he did.
It’s from the 1950′s, so it’s pretty beat-up and racist in some places, but the songs look simple so I thought I’d share.
Hawaiian War Chant
Honolulu Eyes
Lovely Hula Hands
Hula Rock-a-bye
My Sweetheart
When Hilo Hattie Does the Hilo Hop
The Old Plantation
Little Grass Shack
A Song of Old Hawaii
Hula Lullaby
Native Guitars
Drowsy Waters
King Kamehameha
On the Beach at Waikiki
Pagan Love Song
Dreamy Kalua
I Wonder Where My Hula Girl Has Gone
Across the Sea
Honolulu Moon
I've Found a Little Grass Skirt
For You a Lei
An Old Hawaiian Custom
Aloha Oe
I Want to Learn to Speak Hawaiian
Malihini Mele
My Waikiki Ukulele Girl
Naughty Hula Eyes
Coral Sea
The Beauty Hala
Maori Brown Eyes
Pretty Red Hibiscus
One, Two, Three, Four
