O'Brien Is Tryin' To Learn To Talk Hawaiian

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Fretkillr
October 18, 2007

It's time for another antique song. I'm fortunate to have access to a sizable collection of antique recordings and over the years I've probably logged over a hundred hours listening to these early recordings that span from 1890 up to the 1930's. I can best describe it as listening through an audio time machine. You not only get to hear the sounds, voices, and music going back in time as much as one hundred years, but you also get a little insight into what was going on in their lives and minds.

"O'Brien Is Tryin' To Learn To Talk Hawaiian" by Ada Jones (1917) caught my attention right away. I did a little research and learned that this song was written by Al Dubin (lyrics) and Rennie McCormick (music). The Panama Pacific International Exposition was the 1915 worlds fair held in San Francisco, California. The fair was a showcase for promoting the cultures of the Americas. The recently annexed Hawaiian Islands sent a contingent of Hawaiian musicians and dancers. And when I say dancers, I mean "hula" dancers. I'm sure when the men of the day saw the gyrating hips of those grass skirted, coconut shell clad women it had to be quite similar to when I saw my first pole dancer. The Hawaiian dancing caused quite a buzz and when word reached New York many men let their imaginations run wild with thoughts of meeting a "hula" girl. The songwriters of Tin Pan Alley were quick to pick up on this and hence "O'Brien Talks Hawaiian" was born. The writer made clever use of the "ian" sound to rhyme with tryin', sighin', cryin' etc. . and the main character in the song, an Irish American, Pat O'Brien (nicknamed Paddy). The Hawaiian girlfriend's name is Lu which is a great vowel to rhyme with and creates the line, "his Honolulu Lu". The other clever rhyme is using the word "joke" that rhymes with "a-bout" if it's said with an Irish accent. The song is quite funny because it makes O'Brien out to be quite the cad. I was also advised to say "ukulele" with it's proper pronunciation with the "oo" vowel and not the "you" sound. I tried to roll my "r's" the best I could. The music style of this song is actually Ragtime which was soon to be overshadowed by the Jazz Age. It's a real nice ditty that I hope you play at your next luau. Aloha. - Fret Killer

Category: Music

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acoustic guitar sing song o'brien hawaiian

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kisonio72 (3 weeks ago) Show Hide

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alright, for someone of Irish extraction who grew up in Hawaii, this one really stuck a "chord"...Thanks!

casmeis (4 months ago) Show Hide

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Fabulous to hear this song from my childhood. I'd have thought it would have long since totally disappeared, but thanks to you and YouTube here it is for a new generation to enjoy.

alwaysyasmin (5 months ago) Show Hide

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such a nice voice! talented.

sambhav846 (8 months ago) Show Hide

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very amazin sound n ur voice.........

Papatalk (11 months ago) Show Hide

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Very nice job.

Tobsson (1 year ago) Show Hide

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oh my god, i'm really a metal guy right thrue.. But this song actually made me smile and wave my head back and forth.. Really catchy ^^

m134mr (1 year ago) Show Hide

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amazing. I had heard the Ada Jones version of this song, and really ama zing that this song has been bought back to life. Well done, fantastic version. It does the song very proud!!!

usmcbrat2 (1 year ago) Show Hide

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Bravo! Aloha nui loa.

fingal42 (1 year ago) Show Hide

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To my English ears, this sounds like a 19th Century music hall song. I picked up a few of those from my dad/early recordings. Interesting stuff!

berzrker (1 year ago) Show Hide

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I'm an O'Brien, and I think this freaking thing rocks... thanks for the performance

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O'Brien Is Tryin' To Learn To Talk Hawaiian

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