"LOCAL FOLK is a brilliant debut album of sixteen original songs penned by local performing songwriter, Gordon Freitas (fray'-tess). Each song is as captivating as the one before it, weaving a story instantly familiar to anyone who has lived in these islands. Freitas finds a fresh way to weave his acoustic guitar, mandolin, ukulele, dobro, harmonica and Hawaiian lap steel guitar into a roots-based foundation for some wonderful music." This album was deservingly awarded recognition in two categories at the 1998 HAWAI'I MUSIC AWARDS.

 Freitas "establishes himself as a master of lyric prose as he melds each word seamlessly into a sensibility that bridges intellect, taste and honesty with catchiness and commerciality. This stuff is pure and uplifting folklore that captures difficult to express island themes with great clarity and eloquence. The music is as local as it is folk; totally refreshing, delightful and immensely entertaining!" (Liner Note by Peter Apo) Truly a regional portrait of a cultural melting pot, painted in the lyrics of an island boy who grew up on the road across America with eyes open wide and ears tuned in to the winds of the world !

 "The entire LOCAL FOLK album was made up from observations of local people in paradise. The title track, "Local Folk" touches on several topics including the spirit of ALOHA, Hawaiian star navigators, missionaries, a sunken battleship in Pearl Harbor, sovereignty, paniola cowboys and Hawaiians livin' on the far shores (mainland kine). The song acknowledges the people of Hawai'i as colors of aloha... the blending of cultures that have simply become known as "local style"... and "local people" everywhere who seem to be bonded by more than just sheer location." The CD package includes an eight page booklet packed full of aloha and with all the lyrics. There's even a paniola Hawaiian cowboy yodeling lesson in this deal. Yo-da lay hee-tee! "I wrote these songs so folks who came to the islands could learn a little bit about our local people and the events and things that touch our lives"

 

All songs copyrighted ©1997  and written by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)

except "Holualoa" by Gordon Freitas and Evangeline Cornelio Freitas (his mom)

All songs published by Blue Tarpolin Music (BMI),

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

PINEAPPLE ROAD 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)

For recorded key capo up 2 frets 

C                     F            C
Old plantation at the edges of the field
C                   G7        C
Satellite city hall parked on wheels
C                    F         C
Old man walkin' in a permanent stoop
C                           G7   C
Smiling at the kid with the hula hoop
Am            G            F
Sheets on the clothes line blowin' like sails
Am             G          F
Rooster on the front lawn preening his tail
C                    F        C
Mangos to pick and bananas to peel
       C                G7      C
Little island home, big country feel

Red bandana and a blue palaka shirt
Rubber boots and blue jeans red with dirt
A mile long smile on a tropical a tan
Pickin’ and grinnin’ with a pineapple man
Red clouds rising by the pineapple field
Yellow truck and pineapple picker at the wheel
Drivin’ through the land of a million pines
No traffic signs on the red dirt line

     CHORUS

Old plantation at the edges of the field
Pau hana time to enjoy a meal
Teriyaki bobs on the barbecue
Sizzle to the music of a local crew
Ukulele, bongo and a slack guitar
Pickin’ and a grinnin’ in the ol’ backyard
Family and friends make a real big deal
Takin’ a break from the red dirt fields

CHORUS:

C                 F         C
Pineapple Road    Pineapple Road
     F         C               G7            C
Hey, pineapple man,  won’t you bring another load
         F        C         G7          C
From the red dirt fields on Pineapple   Road


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'AINA 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)

 

     C                Csus           C
I am mountains rising high above the valleys
          Am              D/F#               G
I am the in-between where trade winds ramble free
         C                    G/B               Am    Am/G
I am the red hot rock turning coal black in the ocean
         F               G             Am
I am the shore extending deep into the sea
         F               G             Am
I am the shore extending deep into the sea

Chorus:

C  Csus  C   Csus  C              Csus           C
Aina,    Aina,  Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono Aina
I am life to those who sink their roots into me
I am the walls you build with stone cut from my heart
I am the shoulders on these roads you carve across my back
I am the very grounds where life’s foundation starts
I am the very grounds where life’s foundation starts

(chorus 2X)

I am  the “life of the land preserved in righteousness”
I am a place my children proudly call their home
I am the soil that men have fought to gain for power
I am a resting place for bones of those long gone
I am a resting place for bones of those long gone...

(repeat chorus)

(Capo at 4th fret for Kahala Moon record key: E)


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LOCAL FOLK 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 They came from so far across the ocean
 Navigating the stars in the sky
 To these island gems topping volcanoes
 To this promising blue paradise
 Local folk, share a feeling
 With family and friends it’s local style
 Local folk, are these rainbows
 Their colors of aloha make you smile

 There’s a church built by old missionaries
 A sign says Jesus is coming here soon
 Singin’ big hallelujahs on Sunday
 And kumbayah by their campfire moon
 Local folk, still believing
 They keep the best of memories alive
 Local folk, are the reason
 Our small kid times and old folk ways survive

 There’s a battleship sunk in the harbor
 It marks the start of that war number two
 One thousand, one hundred and seventy something men
 Rest in that watery tomb
 Local folk, still remember
 The sacrifices made to come this far
 Local folk, seen the changes
 Through eyes that shine with light from distant stars

 Someone upset this small island nation
 Made them get all frustrated and rattled
 But they’re bonded by more than location
 They’re the same in Las Vegas or Seattle
 Local folk, on a far shore
 Come together and their local folk ways thrive
 Local folk, on these islands
 They’re hustlin’ on the streets to stay alive

 My home town’s a melting pot o’ colors
 We stop to touch the flowers and smell the sea
 You’ll find us talking story ‘bout da’kine any time
 Any place local folk chance to be
 Local folk, share a feeling
 With family and friends (you know) it’s local style
 Local folk, are these rainbows
 Their colors of aloha make you smile

 


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BIG ISLAND 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Buenos noches old vaquero
 Adios, mi hoaloha
 Dry tequila scorching sand in my dream last night again '
 Bout a place they call Big Island... Big Island

 He left behind all that he owned
 And came here from old Mexico
 A girl he met became his wife
 Kids and all would change his life
 Now his heart is on Big Island

 As Paniola rope and ride
 I still see him by their side
 Proud to see them take the reins
 And carry on the cowboy way
 That he brought here to Big Island  (chorus)

 A ruby rising from the sea
 A land of peace and dreams to be
 See for yourself these things I say
 They live a cowboy's dream each day
 On a heaven called Big Island  (chorus)

 


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BLUE TARPO'LIN 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 If the paradise blues gets the better of me
 I'll find a new way to set myself free
 'Cause in my hometown I can't afford a home
 And it's no surprise that I'm not alone

 From the trees I'm gonna hang me a blue tarp roof
 Twenty by ten, guaranteed waterproof
 I put up no walls and I don't need a door
 Sand between my toes makes a real good floor

 Blue tarp affordable home
 In my blue tarpo'lin affordable home
 Blue tarp affordable home
 In my blue tarpo'lin affordable home

 I got a view of the mountains, a view of the sea
 Trade winds blowing like a natural A/C
 Who needs a bill for electricity
 When you cook on a fire and the sunshine is free

 Blue tarp affordable home
 In my blue tarpo'lin affordable home
 Blue tarp affordable home
 In my blue tarpo'lin affordable home

 I'm a proud island man in this land of my roots
 Natural born tan in my cowboy boots
 I'm out on the beach and I'm making a stand
 I'm dreaming 'bout a house on the promised land ...    (chorus)

 


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SWEPT AWAY 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Old Hilo town in forty-six , waking up April Fool’s Day
 Hilo sugar sendin’ smoke in the sky,
 a harbor wave coming their way
 Hilo bay waters receded while people
 ran down to the shore
 To marvel at mother ocean exposing her secret sea floor

 Who can predict what can happen
 when ocean is up to her tricks
 The first wave arrived with the sunrise,
 it roared in at seven ‘o six
 No time to run, high ground too far;
 the town was a bone to be chewed
 A wall of water came pounding down Kamehameha Avenue

 Keaukaha houses pushed in the street;
 the frontage road homes washed away
 Threads of existence worn and frayed,
 a lot of good folk lost that day
 Hilo Theater still standing
 not too much around it was saved
 The Kress building stood the highest
 above the crests of  the incoming waves

 Swept away Swept away, a tiny town by the ocean
 Got swallowed up by her bay...  Swept away

 God bless the folks of Hilo town
 who lost something down by that shore
 They say don’t turn your back on the ocean;
 It’ll swallow you up for sure

 Swept away Swept away A tiny town by the ocean
 Got swallowed up by her bay
 Swept away... swept away... swept away...

 
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CHEYENNE WAIOMINA 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 From across the wild blue Pakipika
 Like a tidal wave hula baloo
 To the plains of Cheyenne Waiomina
 Come a tanned paniola buckaroo
 From the home of a king and a cowboy
 Guess he had to come east to go west
 They say he roped the breath from those cowboys away
 In a world class steer roping contest

 When they opened the gate and the steer broke
 He was sure to make history that day
 Under drab August drizzle the noose found it’s mark
 There was nothing to stand in his way
 No thickets like the raw upland forests
 Where the chill comes from the big island snow
 No lava strewn grasslands that run to the sea
 Where the black rock continues to grow

 Cheyenne Waiomina Cheyenne Waiomina
 Do you still remember a long time ago
 Cheyenne Waiomina Cheyenne Waiomina
 When a big island boy won your old rodeo

 Now, that paniola drew twelve thousand cheers
 From jangling spurs to the flowers on his  hat
 Yes, he roped, and he tossed, and he tied that wild steer
 In a cool fifty-six seconds flat       (chorus)

 He never went back to see Waiomina
 That ol’ Cheyenne just could not compete
 With a steamer that bellowed it’s cattle call drone
 From his home rising up from the sea     (chorus)

 
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STANDIN’ IN DA UA 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Standin’ in da ua
 Soaked down to the bone
 The cold rain keeps on fallin’
 Feelin’ so alone

 Standin’ in da ua
 Tryin’  to hide this pain
 Every little teardrop
 Lost in drops of rain
 Standin’ in da ua  Standin’ in da ua  Standin’ in da ua
 Lost without  your love

 Standin’ in da ua
 Reachin’ for the sky
 A deep sea of emotion
 Risin’ in my eyes
 Standin’ in da ua  Standin’ in da ua  Standin’ in da ua
 Lost without your love

 Forty days and forty nights
 The rain  came pouring down
 Got to shake this feelin’
 Head for higher ground

 Standin’ in da ua
 On bended knees I pray
 For rainbow skies and trade winds
 To blow these clouds away
 Standin’ in da ua  Standin’ in da ua  Standin’ in da ua
 Lost without your love...

 
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HALEIWA BYPASS BLUES 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Anybody seen Haleiwa Town
 When’s  the last time you passed through
 Business is slow and folks are comin’ down
 With the Haleiwa Bypass Blues
 Haven’t seen a customer in seven days
 Might have to pack up and move
 There’s a new road now passin’ right by the town
 With the Haleiwa Bypass Blues

 So look for the signs to Haleiwa
 They’ll appreciate you stopping in too
 In a blink of an eye you might miss the guys
 With the Haleiwa Bypass Blues

 See the North Shore art at the gallery
 Get out of your car and cruise
 Get off on the town before you get down the road
 You got a lot more to gain than to lose

 They got shave ice cream with azuki bean
 A whole lot of little shops
 Need a sandwich or a plate lunch local style
 Then make a Haleiwa stop So look for the signs to Haleiwa....

 


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BLAZIN’ PADDLES 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Six blazin’ paddles slash through the watery
 Tears that have fallen from Hawaiian eyes
 Blue Pakipika rising in front of us
 Big ball of fire floats into the sky

 Sculptured brown bodies poetry in motion
 Minutes and hours mark the miles left behind
 Hot noon day sun riding high on this ocean
 Time strengthened honor is driving their minds

 Six blazin’ paddles repeat ancient rhythms
 Followin’ trails that remain throughout time
 Three quarter time gets the bow ‘cross that line

 Six blazin’ paddles, choppin’ that waterline
 Waltzin’ canoes til they rest high and dry
 Blue Pakipika waving goodbye to us
 Rainbow moon rising, an old victory sign

 Six blazin’ paddles Holo i mua  Imua
 Imua  Me ka lanakila   Me ka lanakila (Onward to Victory)

 


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HOLUALOA (This Place I Call Home) 


Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI) / Evangeline Freitas (mom)

         D            G           A           D
Take the long winding road rising up from the sea
     D               Bm          E7         A
To a place where the roots of my family run deep
       D            G            A     A#dim  Bm    Bm/A
On the side of this mountain  my grandfathers sleep
G         A            D    C     D    C
  In this place I call home

        D              G           A          D
In this place where my mother and father were born
        D            Bm         E7              A
I would join them in time, on a neighbor island shore
       D             G              A     A#dim     Bm
On the road from the start, where I lived all these years
          G          D/F#            E7            A7
But right next to my heart there’s a place for you here

chorus:
D    G            G          A  D
Holualoa  In the heart of Hualalai
       Bm                   E7                        A
At the top of the road that winds from the sea to the sky
D                     G
Laid back cool in the coffee trees
A                Bm          Bm/A
Ridin’ high on a Kona breeze
    Em                 D/F#             G                  A7
The roadside ginger no longer there but fragrance lingers in the air
    Em           D/F#              G                    A7
The giant mangos still hold on  In places where they’re left alone
Em                  D/F#             G                  A7
Cotton clouds bring gentle rains and rainbows greet the sun again
D    G     D    G    D    G          A            D   C  D  C   D  C   D  C
Holualoa,  Holualoa, Holualoa,  this place I call home


That long winding road brought me home from the sea
To a love kept alive in a young child’s  memory
Where Mamalahoa highway and Hualalai meet
Either way, it’s a place I call home...


There are times when it seems nothing changed from before
People still talkin’ story by the ol’ Paul’s Place store
The mauka road is lined with prideful  walls of hand set stone
In this place I call home ...
     D     C       D     C
Holualoa      Holualoa


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PANIOLA YODEL 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 From the cool slopes of the saddle
 To the seashore with a paddle
 With my kaula’ili lasso
 Chasin’ cows into the sea
 In the middle of the great blue ocean, they call the Pakipika
 There’s a cowboy paradise you’ve got to see

 It’s a lot more than old Waikiki where surf rolls into sand
 It’s a bit more than our hula girls can tell you with their hands
 You can hear a bit o’ yod’lin’ cowboy in a sweet Hawaiian song
 You can learn to yodel when a paniola yodels
 Try and sing along,  Ee da lay hee  Ee da lo ooh
 Ee yo da  lay hee tee   Ee yo da lay hee tee

 I started out a yodelin’  when I couldn’t catch the words
 My tongue got twisted following Hawaiian cowboy songs
 A bright Hawaiian cowboy used to round up all my dreams
 He sang his song and I would do my best to sing along
 I heard a paniola yodel ... a paniola yodel ... ee yo da lay hee tee

 


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CANE FIELD SONG 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Once there were cane fields now there are homes
 Where a beating heart can still beat alone
 That old cemetery, now it’s gone
 Somebody moved those blocks of stone

 Once there were cane fields now there is grass
 Lush fairways of green to cover our past
 A bouncing white ball got us singing too fast
 An upside-down flag still flying half-mast

 Down by fire, blessed by rain
 Times are changing, we’re not the same
 Progress city, concrete plains
 Winds of change, blew down the cane

 All that is left of an old memory
 Are those red dirt stains on that white concrete
 Sweet days of youth, our innocent past
 Might have been mowed under fields of grass

 Once there were cane fields now there are songs
 To ease our conscience and help us be strong
 The sugar mill closed, I don’t know what went wrong
 But the cane field is gone so we got to move on
 I’m movin’ on to a cane field song ...
 We’re all movin’ on to a cane field song

 


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WILD PIG HUNTER 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Up in the hills where a pig hunter goes
 The wild bush covers up the lava flow
 In a deep dark valley it's a rough terrain
 Where the forest comes alive in the jungle rain

 Pack up your horses and get your best dogs
 This ain't no hunt for a regular hog
 There's a black mountain spirit in the big island hills
 And he blends into a shadow when he's standin' still

 Get out a gun, bring a bow or a knife
 It's a fifty-fifty chance you'll be riskin' your life
 That rushin' black  boar is sure to put up a fight
 And you'll be huntin' for a shadow on a pitch black night

 Razor sharp tusks, red eyes agleam
 A black locomotive with a full head of steam
 Thundering hooves beatin' down the over turned trail
 Raise up the hair on your neck and make your skin turn pale

 The legend goes a great boar came over
 And dug in his snout like a big bulldozer
 He tossed up his head in a shoveling motion
 And pushed up the islands from the bottom of the ocean
 He fell for a hot lava queen but she put him off
 She was down right mean
 So he slung a lot 'a  mud on his heart's desire
 Glowin'  embers of love replaced her raging fire

 You know the wild pig hunter will always come back
 To challenge that spirit and run with the pack
  They live for the hunt whatever the cost
 And many a pig huntin' dog’s been lost
 Survivin' the game is a dangerous scene
 When your trackin' down the prince of the lava queen
 And when a challenge is made, the stakes are high
 Its the law of the jungle where the strong survive
 Its the law of the jungle where the strong survive

 Up in the hills where a pig hunter goes
 The wild bush covers up the lava flow
 In the valley of the shadow it's a rough terrain
 Where the black mountain spirit of the jungle still reigns.
 Wild pig hunter,   wild pig man...

 


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SURFIN’ 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Sea breeze  blows into my window
 Sun rise puts the light into my eyes
 Sea birds singing songs along the shoreline
 Rainbows bridge the water with the sky

 Surfin’, it’s a break inside a lifetime
 Changes like the shifting of the tides
 Surfin’ on a blue wave of emotion
 Ocean sprays a tear in every eye

 Movin’ down a racing wall of water
 Groovin’ to the rhythm of the sea
 Cruisin’ kickin’ back along the coast line
 Surfin’ on a wave of memories

 Surfin’ surfin’ free to roam into the foam
 Surfin’ surfin’ gets me closer to my home

 


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SING HAWAIIAN SING 

Words and Music by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)


 Hawaiian, sing about the stars above
 That brought you to this aina we call home
 Sing about great voyages across the sea
 When kings and queens would rule from golden thrones

 Sing Hawaiian sing about your travels 'cross the ocean
 Sing Hawaiian sing about the places you have seen
 Sing Hawaiian sing about your mountains and your valleys
 Sing Hawaiian sing be proud and let your voices ring
 Oh Hawaiian Sing,   Oh Hawaiian Sing

 Hawaiians, children of the long canoes
 Cast down from stars to rule the silvery sea
 Red hot lava, great volcanoes formed an island chain
 A paradise to raise your family

 Sing Hawaiian sing your happy love songs of devotion
 Sing Hawaiian sing about the joy your family brings
 Sing Hawaiian sing praise the power and the glory
 Sing Hawaiian sing be proud and let your voices ring
 Oh Hawaiian Sing,   Oh Hawaiian Sing

 Hawaiian,  tell the story of your history
 Hula dancers paint the pictures to your songs
 Your voices rock the listener like the rolling sea
 Listen as your people sing along
 Sing Hawaiian sing,  Kani nei kani nei
 Sing Hawaiian sing,  Oli e
 Sing Hawaiian sing, ... (and keep singing !)

 
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All songs copyrighted ©1997  and written by Gordon Manuel Freitas (BMI)

except "Holualoa" by Gordon Freitas and Evangeline Cornelio Freitas (his mom)

All songs published by Blue Tarpolin Music (BMI),

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.