Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 12, 1 December 2011 — A sovereign kind of Christmas [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A sovereign kind of Christmas

t's holiday time and you deserve a break! So, rather ; than having you slog through a regular eolumn, I thought I would offer

you a holiday gift of music by posting the lyrics to a song I had the pleasure of writing with Jeff Rasmussen in the late '80s. It's titled "Sovereignty Song." I wrote the lyrics. Jeff wrote the music. Go to the peterapomusic.com web site if you want to hear the audio. If you

want a free set of lyrics with chords, just email me at PeterAOHA@gmail.com. Hau'oli Lānui Kākou -A Happy Holiday To ĪJsAll\ Sovereignty Song Sing a song of sovereignty, wherever you may be Throw your voice upon the wind and let it ring Join the voices of the ages in an ancient melody It's a song you should not be afraid to sing It's a song that was written by our father's father's hand It's the only thing we have at our command Sing it to the children, so that they will understand That their future lies within our trembling hands We are native to this land, let us walk, hand in hand

We are children of the sea, you and me We are joined by the spirit of ancestral dignity Sing a song, sing a

song of sovereignty As we walk together, down that dark and lonely road Let us pray the voice of reason shall prevail Every step into the future, is a step into the past As we trudge along an old familiar trail

We are coming home to thee, Mother Nation Hawai'i As we march from every corner of this land See the rainbow in the sky, our colors flying high We are coming home to thee, O Hawai'i! We are native to this land, let us walk, hand in hand We are children of the sea you and me We are joined by the spirit of ancestral dignity Sing a song, sing a song of sovereignty Sing a song, sing a song of sovereignty ■ Feel free to contact me on twitter @PeterApo, Facebook / PeterApo, or PeterAOHA @ gmail.com.

PetEr Apo TrustEE, O'ahu