The Queen's Prayer, or in Hawaiian Ke Aloha O Ka Haku. It was published as Liliʻuokalani's Prayer, with the Hawaiian title and English translation ("The Lord's Mercy") now commonly called "The Queen's Prayer". It is a famous mele, composed by Queen Liliʻuokalani, March 22, 1895, while she was under house arrest at ʻIolani Palace. This hymn was dedicated to Victoria Kaʻiulani, her niece and heir apparent to the throne.
Queen Liliʻuokalani wrote this at the bottom of the manuscript: "Composed during my imprisonment at ʻIolani Palace by the Missionary party who overthrew my government." She was referring to the illegal Overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by U.S. business interests backed by the U.S. government. "Ironically, the song is about the values she embraced from the Western culture that imprisoned her, the values of forgiveness, love, faith and hope."
Read more about this topic: Compositions By Liliuokalani
Famous quotes containing the word queen:
“I know of the sleepy country, where swans fly round
Coupled with golden chains, and sing as they fly.
A king and a queen are wandering there, and the sound
Has made them so happy and hopeless, so deaf and so blind
With wisdom, they wander till all the years have gone by....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)