Bali Ha'i
Encyclopedia
"Bali Ha'i", also spelled "Bali Hai", is a show tune
from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein
musical South Pacific
.
, does a lot of business with the troops, and she meets Lt. Joseph Cable right after he arrives. She sings her mysterious song Bali Ha’i to him because she wants to entice him into visiting her island. She doesn’t tell him that she wants him to meet, and fall in love with, her young daughter, Liat.
In 1949
, Perry Como
recorded the song as a single. Sergio Franchi
included this song on his 1965 RCA Victor tribute to The Songs of Richard Rodgers.
(formerly Aoba Island
). Ambae is located in Vanuatu
(known as New Hebrides
at the time the song was written).
Ambae
is visible on the horizon from Espiritu Santo
island, where James A. Michener
was stationed in World War II
. Michener is the author of Tales of the South Pacific
which is the basis for the musical South Pacific. The author used the tranquil, hazy image of the smoothly sloping island on the horizon to represent a not-so-distant but always unattainable place of innocence and happiness. Hence the longing nature of the song. In his 1992 memoir, The World Is My Home, Michener writes of his time in the Treasury Islands
: "On a rude signboard attached to a tree, someone had affixed a cardboard giving the settlement's name, and it was so completely different from ordinary names, so musical to my ear that I borrowed a pencil and in a soggy notebook jotted the name against the day when I might want to use if for some purpose I could not then envisage: Bali-ha'i."
Rodgers and Hammerstein were inspired by the way that James Michener described the island, so they wanted to include a song about it when they began work on the musical. When Richard Rodgers
first read Oscar Hammerstein II
's lyrics to this song over lunch with Joshua Logan
, he "could hear the music to go with the words". He knew that this song should evoke a mystical, languorous, Oriental quality that the story called for. This can be seen in the many chromatic notes in the melody.
The song inspired an extra touch in the scenic designs of Jo Mielziner
, who drenched the top of his design for the island with water to evoke mist. This in turn prompted Hammerstein to write an extra lyric for the interlude in the song, about the "low-flying cloud" that covers the island.
In the 1958 film version, Bali Ha'i is portrayed by the real-life island of Tioman in Malaysia. However, the scene was filmed on the north shore of Kauai
and Mount Makana
was used as Bali Hai which is still known as Bali Hai today. Tunnel's Beach is often referred to as "Nurses' Beach" and the scene where Bloody Mary sings of Bali Ha'i takes place on Hanalei Bay
.
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
from the 1949 Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
musical South Pacific
South Pacific (musical)
South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
.
In musical South Pacific
In the musical, Bali Ha’i is a volcanic island within sight of the island on which most of the action takes place. The troops think of Bali Ha’i as an exotic paradise, but it is off-limits – except to officers. The matriarch of Bali Ha’i, Bloody MaryBloody Mary (South Pacific)
Bloody Mary is a character in the book Tales of the South Pacific by James Michener, which was made into the musical South Pacific by Rodgers and Hammerstein, and later into a film in 1958....
, does a lot of business with the troops, and she meets Lt. Joseph Cable right after he arrives. She sings her mysterious song Bali Ha’i to him because she wants to entice him into visiting her island. She doesn’t tell him that she wants him to meet, and fall in love with, her young daughter, Liat.
In 1949
1949 in music
-Events:*February 4 – Ljuba Welitsch makes her Metropolitan Opera début in Salome.*September 5 - Wagnerian tenor Walter Widdop appears at The Proms, singing "Lohengrin's Farewell", the day before his sudden death at the age of 51....
, Perry Como
Perry Como
Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
recorded the song as a single. Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi was an Italian tenor.Franchi was born in Cremona, Italy. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study...
included this song on his 1965 RCA Victor tribute to The Songs of Richard Rodgers.
Connections to Aoba/Ambae, Tioman, Kauai, and Treasury Islands
Bali Ha'i was based on the real island of AmbaeAoba Island
Aoba, also known as Ambae or Leper's Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, located near . Ambae has a population of less than 10,000, divided into 3-4 discernible language groups...
(formerly Aoba Island
Aoba Island
Aoba, also known as Ambae or Leper's Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, located near . Ambae has a population of less than 10,000, divided into 3-4 discernible language groups...
). Ambae is located in Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
(known as New Hebrides
New Hebrides
New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu. The New Hebrides were colonized by both the British and French in the 18th century shortly after Captain James Cook visited the islands...
at the time the song was written).
Ambae
Aoba Island
Aoba, also known as Ambae or Leper's Island, is an island in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, located near . Ambae has a population of less than 10,000, divided into 3-4 discernible language groups...
is visible on the horizon from Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation of Vanuatu, with an area of . It belongs to the archipelago of the New Hebrides in the Pacific region of Melanesia. It is in the Sanma Province of Vanuatu....
island, where James A. Michener
James A. Michener
James Albert Michener was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories...
was stationed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Michener is the author of Tales of the South Pacific
Tales of the South Pacific
Tales of the South Pacific is a Pulitzer Prize-winning book, which is a collection of sequentially related short stories about World War II, written by James A. Michener in 1946 and published in 1947...
which is the basis for the musical South Pacific. The author used the tranquil, hazy image of the smoothly sloping island on the horizon to represent a not-so-distant but always unattainable place of innocence and happiness. Hence the longing nature of the song. In his 1992 memoir, The World Is My Home, Michener writes of his time in the Treasury Islands
Treasury Islands
Treasury Islands are a small group of islands a few kilometers to the south of Bougainville and 24 kilometers from the Shortland Islands. They form part of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. The two largest islands in the Treasuries are Mono Island and the smaller Stirling Island...
: "On a rude signboard attached to a tree, someone had affixed a cardboard giving the settlement's name, and it was so completely different from ordinary names, so musical to my ear that I borrowed a pencil and in a soggy notebook jotted the name against the day when I might want to use if for some purpose I could not then envisage: Bali-ha'i."
Rodgers and Hammerstein were inspired by the way that James Michener described the island, so they wanted to include a song about it when they began work on the musical. When Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
first read Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
's lyrics to this song over lunch with Joshua Logan
Joshua Logan
Joshua Lockwood Logan III was an American stage and film director and writer.-Early years:Logan was born in Texarkana, Texas, the son of Susan and Joshua Lockwood Logan. When he was three years old his father committed suicide...
, he "could hear the music to go with the words". He knew that this song should evoke a mystical, languorous, Oriental quality that the story called for. This can be seen in the many chromatic notes in the melody.
The song inspired an extra touch in the scenic designs of Jo Mielziner
Jo Mielziner
Joseph "Jo" Mielziner was an American theatrical scenic, and lighting designer born in Paris, France. He is "the most successful set designer of the Golden era of Broadway", and worked on both stage plays and musicals.-Career:He was the son of artist Leo Mielziner, Sr...
, who drenched the top of his design for the island with water to evoke mist. This in turn prompted Hammerstein to write an extra lyric for the interlude in the song, about the "low-flying cloud" that covers the island.
In the 1958 film version, Bali Ha'i is portrayed by the real-life island of Tioman in Malaysia. However, the scene was filmed on the north shore of Kauai
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
and Mount Makana
Makana
Makana is a mountain located on northern shore of the island of Kauai, where it rises above Limahuli Valley at .Makana is a Hawaiian language term meaning gift or reward. It is often used as a person's name or as part of a name....
was used as Bali Hai which is still known as Bali Hai today. Tunnel's Beach is often referred to as "Nurses' Beach" and the scene where Bloody Mary sings of Bali Ha'i takes place on Hanalei Bay
Hanalei Bay
Hanalei Bay is the largest bay on the north shore of Kauai island in Hawaii. The town of Hanalei is at the mid-point of the bay.Hanalei Bay consists of nearly two miles of beach, surrounded by mountains. In the summer, the bay offers excellent mooring for sailboats, stand up paddle boarding and...
.
Subsequent uses of name Bali Hai
Several products have adopted the name.- Bali Hai is a brand of lager beer sold in Indonesia, as well as a brand of clove cigarettes or kretekKretekKretek are cigarettes made with a blend of tobacco, cloves and other flavors. The word "kretek" itself is an onomatopoetic term for the crackling sound of burning cloves. Haji Jamahri, a resident of Kudus, Java, created kreteks in the early 1880s as a means to deliver the eugenol of cloves to the...
produced by DjarumDjarumDjarum is an Indonesian kretek manufacturer and currently the third largest after Gudang Garam and HM Sampoerna. It was founded in 1951 by Oei Wie Gwan and has 2 headquarters in Indonesia and Malaysia.-History:...
. - There is also a limited edition diving watch named the BaliHa’i produced by the Tiki Trading Company LLC. On the island of BaliBaliBali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
– a province of Indonesia – there is a boating excursion firm called Bali Hai. - Steampunk musician Doctor SteelDoctor SteelDoctor Steel , is a self-published American musician located in Southern California, prominent in the Steampunk, Goth, and Rivethead scenes. He has performed on rare occasions with a "backup band", claiming that a fictitious robot band had malfunctioned...
uses it as a euphemism for his fictional island laboratory in his song, "The Dr. Steel Show." - Bali Hai is the name of a cocktailCocktailA cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
. - Bali Hai was the name of an American Italian Swiss Colony unfortified carbonated fruit flavoured beverage (with pineapple, guava and passionfruit juices) that came out in 1964.
- Bali Hai Consultancy Ltd is an IT consultancy registered in the SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
village of Market WestonMarket WestonMarket Weston is a small village and civil parish in the St Edmundsbury district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located near the Norfolk border around seven miles east-south-east of Thetford, in 2005 its population was 260. The parish also contains the Weston Fen SSSI.The village was given a market...
. - Samuel Jackson sings Bali Ha'i in the shower after waking from a coma in the film "Sphere".
- Bali Hai is played in the background of the first dinner scene of the film American BeautyAmerican Beauty (film)American Beauty is a 1999 American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and written by Alan Ball. Kevin Spacey stars as Lester Burnham, a middle-aged magazine writer who has a midlife crisis when he becomes infatuated with his teenage daughter's best friend, Angela...
(1999). - Bali Hai is the name of a polynesian dance academy in Mexico City. Directed by Clara Snell, they won five 1st places in the Tahiti Fête of Hilo, Hawaii in 2006.
- Bali Hai is a famous seafood restaurant located in Penang, Malaysia.