From the recording Kolu
My Little Grass Shack in Kealakekua, Hawai‘i
(Bill Cogswell, Tommy Harrison, and Johnny Noble)
Written in 1933 for the July 4th canoe races in Kealakekua Bay, this song was an immediate hapa-haole hit.
PERSONNEL
Jim Romano – slack key guitar and vocals
Arrangement by Jim Romano
Lyrics
I want to go back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi
I want to be with all the kāne and wahine that I used to know, long ago
I can hear the old guitars playing on the beach at Hōnaunau
I can hear the old Hawaiians saying “E komo mai no kāua i ka hale wela ka hao”
It won’t be long ʻtil my ship will be sailing back to Kona
It’s a grand old place that’s always fair to see, you’re telling me
I’m just a little Hawaiian, and a homesick island boy
I want to go back to my fish and poi
I want to go back to my little grass shack in Kealakekua, Hawaiʻi
Where the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa go swimming by
Where the humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa go swimming by