Aloha everyone! Here is another one of my songs and why I composed it: I live on Kamalu Road, behind the Sleeping Giant Mountain. Gloria and I were the only ones living in Queens Acres at the time. There was a narrow road full of pukas (holes) to go on. The car would bump up and down until we came to a better road. They finally fixed it. So, that gave me the idea to write about it. Hope you like it. There are still lots of pukas in the roads today.
Aloha everyone! Here is another one of my songs and why I composed it: I live on Kamalu Road, behind the Sleeping Giant Mountain. Gloria and I were the only ones living in Queens Acres at the time. There was a narrow road full of pukas (holes) to go on. The car would bump up and down until we came to a better road. They finally fixed it. So, that gave me the idea to write about it. Hope you like it. There are still lots of pukas in the roads today.
Puka Puka Road
Puka puka puka, puka puka puka, puka puka road
I took my wahine for a ho-lo-ho-lo ka- all over this Garden Isle
Just when she sat beside me the car jumped like a toad
I couldn’t put my arms around my wahine because of the puka road
Chorus:
The road runs high,
the road runs low,
as long as the road is smooth
I don’t care where it goes
Puka puka puka, puka puka puka, puka puka road
I hope and pray
I’ll see the day
The puka roads are all okay,
Okay, the roads are all okay.
•••
Larry Rivera has been a musician on Kaua‘i for more than six decades, and shares the stories behind his songs in “Lyrics of Aloha,” appearing once a month in the Sunday edition of The Garden Island. Win prizes and earn an entry in the Vacations Hawai‘i Vegas vacation for two drawing by listening to KONG radio the following Monday and Tuesday between 6 and 8 a.m. and taking part in a contest based on the column.
