Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: guitar
Song Meaning of “Pa`ahana” by Patrick Landeza
Pa`ahana is an beautiful song of longing, representing the longing for home, family, and community. The title of the song, Pa`ahana, which means `voyaging in Hawaiian, implies a sense of spiritual journey and adventure.
The lyrics of the song feature a person in search of himself, with a strong emphasis on home and family. The longing to create his own “ohana” (or family) is echoed in the chorus, where he sings “make me an ohana, with the love I bear in me.” He is looking for a sense of belonging and is willing to put in effort to build his own home and family.
The song also speaks to the strength found in being bound together with those we love, in the chorus with the lyric “for the strength of the ohana, when we come together” he speaks to the unending hope found in community and keeping the people close.
The imagery of a boat and sailing the open seas expresses an internal journey, as the singer searches for a place to call his own. He is asking for guidance and safety that would “guide me through the seas with the islands in my view.” As he sails, he yearns for the sweet home he was once connected to, singing as an ode to the beauty of that homeland.
Pa`ahana speaks to the internal journey of a person looking for peace and understanding in a place that he can call home. He is hopeful that one day he will “feel the mana of the ancestors” and be brought home to his ohana.