[VERSE 1]
Back in the clouds again, chasing sunrise
Metal wings but my heart’s still shoreline
Work days feel long, miles between me and home
Different cities, different faces
But nothing feels like island places
No matter how far I roam
[PRE-CHORUS]
[soft spoken] I close my eyes and I hear the ocean
Salt air calling like emotion
My kūpuna watching, guiding me back home
[CHORUS]
When I come back home to Hawaiʻi
All the missing pieces find me
Even if it’s only twenty-four
It reminds me what I’m living for
I’m still that island boy at heart
No ka ʻāina, no ke kai — that’s where it starts
No matter where this life takes me
Hawaiʻi is home — always will be
[VERSE 2]
SF nights and downtown lights
But I miss the local kine
Slippahs, plate lunch, and family time
Aloha runs deep in my veins
Even when I board that plane
Home’s not a place — it’s a state of mind
[PRE-CHORUS]
[spoken, emotional] And every time I hear the Hawaiian Air announcement, braddah…
[spoken] The tears stay come
[CHORUS]
When I come back home to Hawaiʻi
All the missing pieces find me
Even if it’s only twenty-four
It reminds me what I’m living for
I’m still that island boy at heart
No ka ʻāina, no ke kai — that’s where it starts
No matter where this life takes me
Hawaiʻi is home — always will be
[BRIDGE]
Hoʻī mai ka ʻuhane
Kuʻu ʻāina aloha
Noho mau i ka puʻuwai
Hawaiʻi… is home
[FINAL CHORUS]
When I come back home to Hawaiʻi
Yeah my whole soul starts to heal
Even if it’s only twenty-four
It reminds me what I’m living for
I’m still that island boy at heart
No ka ʻāina, no ke kai — that’s where it starts
No matter where this life takes me
Hawaiʻi is home — always will be
[OUTRO]
[whispered] Always did.
[whispered] Always will.
[fade out]
