What do the lyrics of the catchy Kapena tune, Masese mean? Growing up in Hilo, I heard this song all da time, but I never knew what it meant.
It turns out is it a Fijian song written by Sakiusa Bulicokocoko who lived in Hawaii and performed with Kapena way back in the 1980s.
The Masese Lyrics Sung by Kapena Go Like This
ao sara ra rao wara lao wako yao
ao sara ra rao wara lao wako yao
ao sara ra rao wara lao wako yao
masa esa eh masese
masese masese masese
oi masa esa e masese
masese masese masese
oi oi masa esa e masese
youngona youngona youngona
oi younga ona ah youngona
tavako tavako tavako
oi ta vah aka o ta vako
ao sara ra rao wara lao waka yao
rana wako yao rava wako yao
i sara ra rao wara lao
a laolaca lavical yao
eiu masese wara gu
Kapena kapena kapena
ka pa ena a ka pena
kapena kapena kapena
ka pa ena ka pena
What does Kapena Masese Mean?
Some people say that the song itself doesn’t have a true meaning. That it is primarily a play on words that are strung together in a way that sounds good.
But here is what the words translate to from Fijian to English:
- au sa rarawa rarawa ko’au = i’m a big disappointment
- kapena = captain (in Hawaiian)
- masese = matches to light your smokes
- rarawa vakalevu ko’au = i’m so sad or i’m really bummed
- tavako = tobacco (which you light with your masese)
- youngona = kava or awa (in Hawaiian)
The beauty of the fact that the song itself doesn’t have a truly coherent meaning is that we get to choose what it means to us.
For me, Masese means that life sucks so I am going to get my matches, light a cigarette and then I’m going to drink kava with my friends. We start to talk story and listen to some tunes and everything that sucked so bad about life fades away for the evening.