After a few hours of laughing and talking story in a coffee shop, Eddie Kamae and Pilahi Paki came up with the lyrics for this rollicking, fun song. The story provides a glimpse of Eddie’s working relationship with his teacher whom he called upon to ask about a famously smelly place he visited near Lahaina.
Pūʻolo contains
- lyrics and translations
- song story
- educational questions
- music sheets
- bibliography
- resources from Kamae archive
Listen with Lyrics
Watch Video Clips on YouTube and ʻUluʻulu
YouTube videos are documentary clips and full song performances.
ʻUluʻulu videos link to short preview clips from raw footage.
Story on how Pilahi Paki and Eddie Kamae wrote the comic and playful song “Kēlā Mea Whiffa” about the smelly place at Launiupoko near Lahaina from the documentary, Those Who Came Before: The Musical Journey of Eddie Kamae.
Eddie Kamae and The Sons of Hawaiʻi (Paul Kim, Mike Kaʻawa, and Analu Aina) perform “Kēlā Mea Whiffa” at Windward Community College’s Palikū Theatre in 2009.
Eddie Kamae reflects on the origins of the song “Kēlā Mea Whiffa” at the Chozen-ji Zen Buddhist Dojo.
Short preview clip of Eddie Kamae and The Sons of Hawaiʻi (Claybourne “Braddah Smitty” Smith, Moe Keale, Reverend Dennis Kamakahi, and Martin Pahinui) performing “Kēlā Mea Whiffa” at Don Ho’s Island Grill in Aloha Tower Marketplace in 1999.
B-roll footage of Wailana Coffee House in Waikīkī where the song “Kēlā Mea Whiffa” was composed. Clip begins with Kennedy Theater at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa campus, an important place for another song of Pilahi Paki’s, “Aloha Chant.”
Eddie Kamae sharing more about the time he and his teacher Pilahi Paki collaborated on the song, “Kēlā Mea Whiffa.”
To explore more of our digitized collections of raw footage with ʻUluʻulu, visit:
Hawaiian Legacy Foundation: Eddie & Myrna Kamae.