The word aloha derives from the Proto-Polynesian root qarofa, and ultimately from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian. It has cognates in other Polynesian languages, such as Samoanalofa and Māori aroha, also meaning "love."
A folk etymology claims that it derives from a compound of the Hawaiian words alo meaning "presence", "front", "face", or "share"; and ha, meaning "breath of life" or "essence of life." Although alo does indeed mean "presence" etc., the word for breath is spelled with a macron or kahakō over the a (hā) whereas the word aloha does not have a long a. Read more -
It is said that Queen Lili`uokalani composed "Aloha O`e" in Maunawili in 1877 after witnessing the fond parting embrace of two lovers, one of whom was probably her sister, Likelike, who later married A. S. Cleghorn. The final verse mentions the rose blossoms (nā pua rose) at Maunawili. Liliu`okalani intended "Aloha O`e" as a love song; but it became a song of farewell.
Queen Lili'uokalani (1838 to 1917) was a prolific composer, the first female Native Hawaiian author, and the founded the Queen Lili'uokalani Children's Trust for orphans and indigent children--which still exists today. She is best remembered for her composition, "Aloha 'Oe". In 1891, upon the death of her brother King Kalakaua, she became queen of Hawai'i. In 1893, she was deposed by US naval forces and two years later imprisoned in her palace. Until her death in 1917, she continued to fight for the rights of her people and her country, in her words, "....The cause of Hawaiian independence is larger than any one man connected to it".
The song in the background is Kanaka Waiwai, a church hymn that the Queen had especially liked.
The song in the background is Kanaka Waiwai, a church hymn that the Queen had especially liked.
The song was inspired by a horseback trip she took in 1877 to the windward side of Oʻahu. After visiting the Boyd ranch in Maunawili, Liliʻuokalani witnessed a farewell embrace between Colonel James Boyd and one of the young ranch ladies. A tune came to her on the ride home and she composed the words once she returned to Washington Place. The melody of the chorus is similar to the chorus of George Frederick Root's 1854 song "There's Music In The Air".
More about can be found here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liliuokalani
The words and translations can be found here -
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