Mekia Kealakai likens Nuʻuanu’s fresh water springs to the abundance of aloha the composer holds for a lover. Building imagery and symbolism by referencing places, natural elements, and blossoms of the area, this mele pledges unending loyalty and cautions the sweetheart against covetousness and giving into physical desires.

In the album’s most recent composition, Kainani Kahaunaele offers Raiatea this mele inoa, a name song, in honor of Keaoʻōpuaikamakaokanalu. Weaving moʻokūʻauhau together with names of akua, aliʻi, and wahi pana, the composer conveys the mana associated with each onto the recipient of this inoa.

This compelling composition by Ke Kamāliʻi Miriam Likelike, the third sibling of Nā Lani ʻEhā, the Royal Four, alludes to the delights shared between two sweethearts, whose tryst seems to have a forlorn ending. The poetry draws upon sounds of the natural environment and other elemental forces to describe the physical sensations and emotional outcomes that befell the lovers in their pursuit of one another.

Ke Keiki Aliʻi Leleiōhoku writes of a darling whose scent is carried on the breeze, attracting the frequent attention of a suitor. The lyrics teeter between flirtatious wooing and teasing vexation on the composer’s behalf, prompting a not-so rhetorical question: We have prepared for this moment well, why do you not avail yourself of our time together?

This plaintive melody conceals sentiments of everlasting affection and adoration for a dear one. Composed by Queen Liliʻuokalani, this mele seems to be Her Majesty’s pledge to look after and hold dear the subject of her poetry, whom she dons as a lei kaimana, a diamond necklace, gleaming most brightly among the innumerable royal buds at Muʻolaulani, the Queen Liliʻuokalani Children’s Center.

Composer Johnny Kealoha is loyal to Hawaiian custom in his composition, acknowledging the four main islands, the different blossoms associated with them that are strung into lei, adorning each island’s tallest peak, respectively according them honor, splendor, pride, and renown. This mele has a mnemonic function by reminding us of important knowledge about our island home, such as words and imagery associated with nā moku ʻehā, the four islands.

Love issues forth like the fragrance of blossoms at Old Plantation. In their mele, co-composers Mary Montano and David Nape revel in the warm hospitality of this home, now the current site of the Neal Blaisdell Center, whose amenities featured fish ponds, streams, and a water wheel. Sights, sounds, and senses experienced at the home become metaphors for fond memories held by intimates of the Ward ʻohana.

Her Majesty, Queen Liliʻuokalani, entreats Ka Makua Mana Loa to watch over the aliʻi of the aupuni, the makaʻāinana, and the lehulehu. The power and beauty of the queen’s poetry is in its intention, which she sets for the protection of each class of Hawaiʻi and its hierarchical society. This mele wishes blessings of prosperity and peace for the kingdom – from Hawaiʻi to Niʻihau – while conceiving an eternal reign for the mōʻī of the time, King Kamehameha V, whose livelihood is secured by the patience, affection, and shelter of the Almighty Father.

The imagery of this composition is illustrated by commending the features and characteristics of Mauna ʻAʻala to describe a person so lovely, their scent is carried on the breeze, whose effervescence was such that ilihia nā manu o ka laʻi, birds of the calm were still, pausing to behold such beauty. The composition also alludes to Lehua, likely a poetic reference to Mauna ‘Aʻala’s romantic companion.