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"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.