Palisa (Paris) - Traditional

Palisa aku nei au
I ka lele pāluna pōniuniu

Nanea i ka lele a ka pāluna
ʻAlawa iho ʻoe ani ka makani

ʻĪnia aku nei au
I ke kau ʻelepani ihu peleleu

ʻAikupika aku nei au
I ke kau kāmelo holo kapakahi

I Palisa aku nei au
Kūlanakauhale nani lua ʻole
 
ʻAlawa iho ʻoe i kahi kiʻi kole
Aia ma ka ʻaoʻao kona kī ʻoni

Mai punihei ʻoe i ka Haole
Ka lima palamino na ʻaukake

Haʻina ʻia mai ana ka puana
Kūlanakauhale nani lua ʻole
I'm in Paris
Flying dizzily in a balloon

Fun to fly in a balloon
You look down and the wind blows by

I'm in India
Riding on an elephant with a long nose

I'm in Egypt
Riding a camel running sideways

I'm in Paris
City beautiful without an equal


Look at my dolly on its side
A key to make it move

Do not be fooled by the white man
Whose hands make sausages vanish

Tell the story
Of the city beautiful without an equal

Source: Nā Mele o Hawaiʻi Nei by Elbert & Mahoe - This hula, popular at the California Fair of 1915, was composed by a youngster in a hospital, who had seen a movie and imagined himself in the exotic places mentioned in the song. The boy may have had Hansen's disease