This powerful music video was created in collaboration with "Spirit Science" and Native American artist Nahko & Medicine for the People. Before you watch the music video here is a little background and translation for some of the lyrics.
Nahko came to the Big Island of Hawaii which facilitated his blossoming as an artist and healing on his journey. He was greatly influenced by the depth and beauty of the native Hawaiian culture and he has included many Hawaiian words in his songs. I will give you a couple translations to the Hawaiian words he uses most often in this song.
Hawaiian words in general are like poetry. Each word has several meanings and depending on the context can mean different things. Often times the speaker will have multiple layers of meaning, metaphors and even riddles weaved in between their sentences. For this reason each word has several translations. Though Aloha (Ah-lo-ha), Ke Akua (Kay Ah-ku-ah), and Kuleana (Ku-lay-ana) are used many times, their use in this song offers the listener an array of interpretations depending on their own experience when listening to this song...
- Aloha - love, affection, compassion, mercy, sympathy, pity, kindness, sentiment, grace, charity; greeting, salutation, regards; sweetheart, lover, loved one; beloved, loving, kind, compassionate, charitable, lovable; to love, be fond of; to show kindness, mercy, pity, charity, affection; to venerate; to remember with affection; to greet, hail.
- Ke Akua - God, goddess, spirit, creation, universe, ghost, idol, divine, supernatural, godly
- Kuleana - right, privilege, concern, responsibility, title, business, property, estate, portion, jurisdiction, authority, liability, interest, claim, ownership, tenure, affair, province; reason, cause, function, justification
Here are the full lyrics by Nahko & Medicine for the People:
"Aloha Ke Akua"
Lend your ears, lend your hands
Lend your movement, anything you can
Come to teach, come to be taught
Come in the likeness in the image of God
Cause, you can be like that
With all that humbleness, and all that respect
All of the power invested in me
Be it hard to love my enemies
All of the black bags over the heads of the dead and dying
The more I understand about the human race
The less I comprehend about our purpose and place
And maybe if there was a clearer line
The curiosity would satisfy
Time based prophecies that kept me from living
In the moment I am struggling
To trust the divinity of all the guides
And what the hell they have planned for us
I cry for the creatures who get left behind
But everything will change in a blink of an eye
And if you wish to survive
You will find the guide inside
I go back and forth every single day
The clarity it comes to me in a choppy way
As the feelings and the places
And the seasons change
The galaxies remain
Energy fields pullin’ up out of this space
The angels that are a couple to the spiritual waste
The hate that gets me distant from my spiritual pace
Ten fold the manna when the planets are in place, in polar alignment
We’re on assignment
Bodies on consignment
Return them to the circus
And what is the purpose?
What is the purpose and would you believe it?
Would you believe it
If you knew what you were for
And how you became so informed?
Bodies of info performing such miracles
I am a miracle made up of particles
And in this existence
I’ll stay persistent
And I’ll make a difference
And I will have lived it
Aloha, Aloha Ke Akua, Ke Akua
Aloha, Aloha, Kuleana, Kuleana
Aloha, Aloha Ke Akua, Ke Akua
Aloha, Aloha, Kuleana, Kuleana.
Each day that I wake
I will praise, I will praise
Each day that I wake
I give thanks, I give thanks
Each day that I wake
I will praise, I will praise
Each day that I wake
I give thanks, I give thanks
And the day that I don’t wake up
And transcend the holy make-up
I am capable, I am powerful
And the day that I don’t wake up
And transcend the holy makeup
I am on my way to a different place…
I’m not a leader, just a creature
Seeking the features of a teacher
Whether you follow or whether you lead
All mysterious ways of nature and I’m into it
Changing management
And there are various ways to conquer this monotonous metropolis
My stubbornness is bottomless
My fearlessness is talking shit
And I’m wide awake and I’m taking names
I am not a leader, just a creature
Seeking the features of a teacher
Whether you follow or whether you lead
All mysterious ways of nature and I’m into it
I’m into it
Changing management
And there are various ways to conquer this monotonous metropolis
My stubbornness is bottomless
My fearlessness is talking shit
And I am wide awake
And I’m taking names
And there are various ways to conquer this monotonous metropolis
My stubbornness is bottomless
My fearlessness is talking shit
And I’m wide awake and I’m taking names
Do you speak to me like you speak to God?
All of the love and understanding between the father and the son?
Do you believe in the perfectness of where you are?
These are my people, these are my children
This is the land that I would fight for
My solidarity is telling me to patiently
Be moving the musical medicine around the planet in a hurry
Cuz there’s no time to wait
I gotta to wake up my babies, time to stand up and say
We know what we are for
And how we became so informed
Bodies of info, performing such miracles
I am a miracle, made up of particles
And in this existence
I’ll stay persistent
And I’ll make a difference
And I will have lived it...
Aloha, Aloha Ke Akua, Ke Akua
Aloha, Aloha, Kuleana, Kuleana
Aloha, Aloha Ke Akua, Ke Akua
Aloha, Aloha, Kuleana, Kuleana
Each day that I wake
I will praise, I will praise
Each day that I wake
I give thanks, I give thanks
Each day that I wake
I will praise, I will praise
Each day that I wake
I give thanks, I give thanks
And the day that I don’t wake up
And transcend the holy make-up
I am capable, Hm that’s right
I am powerful
And the day that I don’t wake up and transcend the holy make-up
I am on my way to a different place!
Aloha, Aloha Ke Akua, Ke Akua
Aloha, Aloha, Kuleana, Kuleana
Aloha, Aloha Ke Akua, Ke Akua
Aloha, Aloha, Kuleana, Kuleana
I hope you enjoyed this song and music video.
Aloha