- “What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?”
- ―Timon
"Hawaiian War Chant" is an American popular song whose original melody and lyrics were written in the 1860s by Prince Leleiohoku of Hawaii. The original title of the song was "Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi" or "We Two in the Spray". It has been used in several Disney productions, including the theme park attraction, Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, and Disney's animated feature The Lion King, also called "The Hula Song". The song was also featured in the opening segment of Episode 320 of The Muppet Show.
Appearances[]
Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room[]
The song appears in Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room, a Disney theme park attraction that first appeared at Disneyland in 1963, as well as Magic Kingdom in 1971 and Tokyo Disneyland in 1983. Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom still feature the original show. In the attraction, the song is performed by Audio-Animatronic orchids, birds of paradise, tikis and birds as part of the show's luau sequence. The song is performed in Hawaiian, and reflects an older accent with words written using the letter "T" where modern readers would expect the letter "K", as written by Leleiohoku.
English lyrics were written by Ralph Freed and the melody changed by Johnny Noble in 1936. Though the song is not performed in English in the attraction, Freed still receives writing credit on official releases by Walt Disney Records, such as Walt Disney's The Enchanted Tiki Room in 1968 and A Musical History of Disneyland in 2005.
In the show itself, the song starts as a peaceful luau melody sung by the Orchids and Birds of Paradise. However, halfway through the song, the Tiki Gods, having been angered by all the celebrating in the Tiki Room, interrupt by bringing the Tiki Drummers and Totem Poles to life as they transform the song into a wrathful chant. The chanting becomes faster and more chaotic as it goes on, climaxing with a large thunderstorm breaking out.
Stitch Presents Aloha e Komo Mai![]
The song is heard after the first part of Aloha, E Komo Mai. It is sung when Waha Nui tells the orchids to begin their next musical number which is suddenly disrupted when Stitch plays pranks in the orchids' flowerbed much to Waha Nui's anger upon noticing the interruption.
The Lion King[]
In The Lion King, the original lyrics of the chant are changed, but it still retains the melody. The song was used by Timon and Pumbaa to distract some anonymous hyenas for Simba and Nala to pass without being detected. It works as these hyenas chase them off-screen (only to be gassed by Pumbaa and flee as shown in The Lion King 1½).
Lyrics[]
Orchids: Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
(with big orchids joining in and regular orchids harmonizing)
Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
Birds of Paradise: Au... we... ta... huala
Au... we... ta... huala
(with the master of ceremony birds joining in with orchids vocalizing)
Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
(back to the birds of paradise singing along)
Au we ta huala
Au we ta huala
Huala
Huala
Huala
Huala
Hua... la...!
(tiki drum verse)
(vocalizes)
Tiki Statues: Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
(grunt verse)
(continued grunts)
(frenzy verse)
Birds of Paradise: Tahuwai...
Orchids: Au we, au we, au we
Birds of Paradise: ...wai la...
Orchids: Au we, au we
Birds of Paradise: Tahuwai, ah, tahuwai wai la...
(sped-up verse plus continued grunting in background)
Chorus: Au we, au we, pututui,
Au we, au we, pututui,
Au we, au we... (Tahuwai, tahuwai, tahuwai, tahuwai...)
Au we...
Ooh, ooh,
Huala, huala, hua...
Pili koo, pili koo
Huala, huala, hua...
Au we, au we
Au we, au we
Ooh, ooh,
Oooohhh...
Au we...
(thunder crashes)
Orchids: Tahuwai la, a tahuwai la
Tahuwai la, a tahuwai la
(heard in background)
Waha Nui: Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
Orchids: Au we ta huala
Au we ta huala
Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
Tahuwai la a tahuwai wai la
Ehu hene la a pili koo lua la
Pututui lu a ite toe la
Hanu lipo ita paalai
Au we ta huala
Au we... tahuwai la...!
There's a sunny little, funny little melody
That was started by a native down at Waikiki
He would gather a crowd down beside the sea
And they'd play his gay Hawaiian chant
Soon, the other little native started singing it
And the hula hula maidens started swinging it
Like a tropical storm, that's the way it hit
Funny little gay Hawaiian chant
Timon: Luau!
If you're hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat
Eat my buddy Pumbaa here
Because he is a treat
Come on down and dine
On this tasty swine
All you have to do is get in line
Are ya achin'...
Pumbaa: Yup, yup, yup.
Timon: For some bacon?
Pumbaa: Yup, yup, yup.
Timon: He's a big pig.
Pumbaa: Yup, yup.
Timon: You can be a big pig, too! Oy!
Trivia[]
- The line that starts the scene, "What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?", was improvised by Timon's voice actor, Nathan Lane.
- According to a special feature on the Diamond Edition Blu-ray disc, after being animated, this song was planned to be replaced by a Michael Jackson-style number. However, due to time constraints during production, the idea was abandoned and this sequence was left in the film as it was.
- The fact that Timon wears healthy green leaves indicates the Pride Lands are not entirely barren, as it was earlier implied.
- According to The Lion King 1½, Timon and Uncle Max both resent this activity.
- Two mini beanbag dolls were inspired by this scene. One is Pumbaa with an apple in his mouth, and the other is Timon wearing the same hula outfit as in this song.
- "Hawaiian War Chant" is replaced by the Charleston in the stage musical version of The Lion King. In the Spanish version, it is replaced by a traditional Andalusian dance. In the 2019 remake, the sequence is replaced with Timon and Pumbaa parodying the opening of "Be Our Guest" from Beauty and the Beast.
- Timon briefly sings this song at the end of the Tumble Monkeys song in Festival of the Lion King.
- "Hawaiian War Chant" appears at the end of the track "This is My Home" on The Lion King: The Legacy Collection.
- An instrumental version of this song is heard in the Mickey Mouse episode "Ku'u Lei Melody".
- A variant of the tune is briefly heard in the Disney On Ice Monsters, Inc. show when Sulley, Mike, Boo, and Celia find a door to Hawaii.
Gallery[]
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