Songs and Stories of Middle-earth

[Fieranor of Imladris]

So, since there are songs that have been translated, and songs taken from Tolkien lore, and songs about to be written about recent exploits, why shouldn't we place them in this thread? Have at it, my friends.

THE SONG LIST OF YOUR COMPANY

• Hobbit Bath Song ~ This should be fairly easy to pick up for anyone, though only Hobbits will know it, for now.
   
• Home is Behind ~ Dwarves and Hobbits, in particular, would know this one, and likely individualized and/or additional verses. Those who've traveled with Dwarves and Hobbits may also know it.
   
• O' Elbereth ~ Wayward Elves will all know this song, for certain and, perhaps Silvan Elves, though I doubt many High Elves will have heard it, let alone know the words to it.
   
• The King Beneath the Mountains ~ All Dwarves know of this prophecy, as do all the Lakemen and, in memory, all Bardings.
   
• The Last Goodbye ~ Hobbits and Dwarves MAY know this obscure ditty.
   
• One More Mystic Potion ~ Introduced by Artorius.
   
• The Road Goes Ever On and On ~ Everyone knows this song, world-wide.
   
• Set Me Free! ~ This is an ancient Elvish song Moriel worked hard to write and, with Artorius' pushing her memory, remembered, concerning Wraiths.
   
• Song for the King Under the Mountain ~ Dwarves will, for sure, know this one and, perhaps also Éadnes, due to his age.
   
• The Song of Durin ~ Dwarves will know this one for certain and, perhaps, older Elves such as Éadnes.
   
• The Song of the Wandering Company ~ This is an original composition, in-work, by Artorius.
   
• That's What Bilbo Baggins Hates ~ Moro might know this one, though likely no one else, unless they're related to Bagginses.
   
• They Want a Battle, Well Here's the War! ~ Mannish battle song introduced by Éadnes Andwiltan.
   
• To the Bottle, I Go ~ I would think this could be a fairly standard drinking song.
   
• Travel by the Winds ~ This song was learned by Artorius from an old Scholar, the original language being Adûnaic, though it is written here in Westron.

[Artorius]

Out-of-Character

This is heavily inspired from Lament for Boromir, I have tweaked words to turn it into a song that could be sung at the fellowship stage, everyone takes on the role of one of the Winds sings a part of it. The Lyrics appear in The Lord of the Rings and the theme is taken from this dude: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT5-ZLJTi0I

The Song of the Wandering Company - in progress (we really need to have a think about a name maybe?)

Through the deep green of the fen and field where the long grass grows
The West Wind comes a-walking, and about the lands it goes.
The words on the wind are strong and clear, its voice calls out in might.
Have you seen the wanderer's a-coming by moon or by starlight?

‘I saw them journey over streams, over waters wide and grey,
I saw them walk in empty lands until they'd gone away
Into the shadows of the forest growth, I saw them then no more.
The North Wind may have heard the Dwarven Raven's caw.

‘O travellers on the forest road, we see you have gone afar,
But you came not from the gloomy wood, without some new scars.’

From the Wintery land the North Wind rides, and past the snow that falls
Flying over lake Evendim, folk can hear it's call.
‘What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to us this day?
What news of the Dwarves and Men, of a Hobbit and Elf, please say!'

‘Beneath the great forest leaves, There many foes they fought.
An attack from Goblin and Orcish beast, a lesson had been taught
Blood was spilt and steel clashed, their foes took their final rest;
And the company survive another day and the road lead them West.

[Moro River-Hopper]

I think I'm going to add some songs, or at least songs you can use as samples, to the song book. This first batch comes from the Hobbit, and I'll give Chapters. This first song comes from Chapter 1, An Unexpected Party, but while the lines are the same, they were rearranged -and sound FAR better- in the movie...

Blunt the knives and bend the forks!
Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
Chip the glasses and crack the plates!
That's what Bilbo Baggins hates.

Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
Splash the wine on every door.

Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl;
Pound them up with a thumping pole;
And when you've finished, if any are whole,
Send them down the hall to roll!

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!

Obviously, Moro might know the song, or something close to it, though the rest of you might not. In our present adventure, with the company of Óin and Balin, they might know it as well.

[Frerin]

Out-of-Character

This is a song that would be known to the dwarves in the company at least. There is a very nice performance by Clamavi de Profundis here:

The Song of Durin
The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
No words were laid on stream or stone
When Durin woke and walked alone.

He named the nameless hills and dells;
He drank from yet untasted wells;
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
And saw a crown of stars appear,
As gems upon a silver thread,
Above the shadows of his head.

The world was fair, the mountains tall,
In Elder Days before the fall
Of mighty kings in Nargothrond
And Gondolin, who now beyond
The Western Seas have passed away:
The world was fair in Durin's Day.

A king he was on carven throne
In many-pillared halls of stone
With golden roof and silver floor,
And runes of power upon the door.
The light of sun and star and moon
In shining lamps of crystal hewn
Undimmed by cloud or shade of night
There shone for ever fair and bright.

There hammer on the anvil smote,
There chisel clove, and graver wrote;
There forged was blade, and bound was hilt;
The delver mined, the mason built.
There beryl, pearl, and opal pale,
And metal wrought like fishes' mail,
Buckler and corslet, axe and sword,
And shining spears were laid in hoard.

Unwearied then were Durin's folk;
Beneath the mountains music woke:
The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,
And at the gates the trumpets rang.

The world is grey, the mountains old,
The forge's fire is ashen-cold;
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:
The darkness dwells in Durin's halls;
The shadow lies upon his tomb
In Moria, in Khazad-dûm.
But still the sunken stars appear
In dark and windless Mirrormere;
There lies his crown in water deep,
Till Durin wakes again from sleep.

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Having just purchased for my new tablet the whole collection for Lord of the Rings, I ran across this little ditty, which would be fairly well known in the world...

The Road Goes Ever On and On...
The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.

This comes from Chapter One of The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, just as Bilbo is preparing to leave Bag-End on his "eleventy-first" birthday.

NOTE: If you guys develop further verses, which of course would require unique Song rolls during one or more Fellowship Phase(s), we can do that, too.

[Fieranor of Imladris]

I don't know if modern music fits in here, but this song, in particular, I really enjoy and feel it fits...

The Last Goodbye ~ Billy Boyd, from The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies Soundtrack
I saw the light fade from the sky
On the wind I heard a sigh
As the snowflakes cover
My fallen brothers
I will say this last goodbye

Night is now falling
So ends this day
The road is now calling
And I must away

Over hill and under tree
Through lands where never light has shone
By silver streams that run down to the sea

Under cloud, beneath the stars
Over snow and winter's morn
I turn at last to paths that lead home

And though where the road then takes me,
I cannot tell
We came all this way
But now comes the day
To bid you farewell

Many places I have been
Many sorrows I have seen
But I don't regret
Nor will I forget
All who took that road with me

Night is now falling
So ends this day
The road is now calling
And I must away

Over hill, and under tree
Through lands where never light has shone
By silver streams that run down to the sea

To these memories I will hold
With your blessing I will go
To turn at last to paths that lead home

And though where the road then takes me,
I cannot tell
We came all this way
But now comes the day
To bid you farewell

I bid you all a very fond farewell

[Fieranor of Imladris]

This is from The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Chapter 3.

Home is Behind
Upon the hearth the fire is red,
Beneath the roof there is a bed;
But not yet weary are our feet,
Still round the corner we may meet
A sudden tree or standing stone
That none have seen but we alone.

Tree and flower and leaf and grass,
Let them pass! Let them pass!
Hill and water under sky,
Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.

Apple, thorn, and nut and slow,
Let them go! Let them go!
Sand and stone and pool and dell,
Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.

Then the world behind and home ahead,
We'll wander back to home and bed.

Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,
And then to bed! And then to bed!
And now to bed! And now to bed!

[Fieranor of Imladris]

From Chapter 3, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (NOTE: I think this is know as O' Elbereth, but I don't know for certain.)

Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady clear!
O Queen beyond the Western Seas!
O Light to us that wander here
Amid the world of woven trees!

Gilthoniel! O Elbereth!
Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath!
Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to thee
In a far land beyond the Sea.

O stars that in the Sunless Year
With Shining hand by her were sown,
In windy fields now bright and clear
We see your silver blossom blown!

O Elbereth! Gilthoniel!
We still remember, we who dwell
In this far land beneath the trees,
Thy starlight on the Western Seas.

[Fieranor of Imladris]

From The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring...

To the Bottle I Go
Ho! Ho! Ho! to the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe.
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
And many miles be still to go,
But under a tall tree I will lie,
And let the clouds go sailing by.

(NOTE: Peter Hollens did a longer version of this, more words... I don't know if those are his own modifications or not, but the video is here... keep in mind, this is a medley, so it's like three or four songs wrapped up together. I'll see about separating the words out, later.)

[Frerin]

Out-of-Character

Harald, I separated these so they would be easier to click on in the OP.

Song for the King under the Mountain
Under the Mountain dark and tall
The King has come unto his hall!
His foe is dead, the Worm of Dread,
And ever so his foes shall fall.

The sword is sharp, the spear is long,
The arrow swift, the Gate is strong;
The heart is bold that looks on gold;
The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.

On silver necklaces they strung
The light of stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, from twisted wire
The melody of harps they wrung.

The mountain throne once more is freed!
O! wandering folk, the summons heed!
Come haste! Come haste! across the waste!
The king of friend and kin has need.

Now call we over mountains cold,
'Come back unto the caverns old'!
Here at the Gates the king awaits,
His hands are rich with gems and gold.

The king is come unto his hall
Under the Mountain dark and tall.
The Worm of Dread is slain and dead,
And ever so our foes shall fall!

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Chapter 5 of The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring...

Hobbit Bath Song
Sing hey! for the bath at close of day
that washes the weary mud away!
A loon is he that will not sing:
O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,
and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;
but better than rain or rippling streams
is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need
down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed;
but better is Beer, if drink we lack,
and Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high
in a fountain white beneath the sky;
but never did fountain sound so sweet
as splashing Hot Water with my feet!

[Eadnes]

This song was introduced by Eadnes Andwiltan at The Eagle's Rest Inn & Tavern at The Old Ford post "The Marsh-bell" adventure...

They Want a Battle, Well Here's the War!
We will not take this anymore
These words will never be ignored
They want a battle
Here's a war

No more,
Down eyes of shame
Made to feel dead again
Your howls cut deep
Your lives are fueled by your need for deceit
We too scared to speak
You're only alive when you torture the weak
Now hear us roar

We will not take this anymore
These words will never be ignored
You want a battle
Here's a war
Here's a war

We won't be afraid
No remorse, no restraint
These scars won't heal
Now you're the victim we'lI make you squeal
Now you fear
I need you to know what you've done can you hear?
Can you hear us roar?

We will not take this anymore
These words will never be ignored
You want a battle
Here's a war
Here's a war

Won't suffer in our silence
We will never be alone
Won't suffer in our silence
We will never be alone

We will not take this anymore
These words will never be ignored
You want a battle
Here's a war
Here's a war!
Here's a war!

[Artorius]

We are going to see the Dwarves? Then a drinking song is demanded. I will put this here first but certainly refer to it when I get a chance to in the game.

One More Mystic Potion:

Once when we were returning from a battle,
We ended up lost in a gloomy forest.
In the middle of the woods we saw an old shack,
With tired hands we knocked the door very loudly.
Old Shaman opened the wooden door, he asked us to come in with friendly words.
From his pot arose a scent so strange.
Malty and bitter, but still very summoning.

Bring me a mystic potion; it will heal my achin' wounds.
A taste so bitter that makes my broken soul feel so good.
It will make us sing and dance and give our mind some peace,
Or it might even unleash the beast in me!

He filled our pints with the devils beverage.
And served another round with a sinister grin.
The world was spinning in a new light I saw,
Everything and everyone was singing our song!

With nature, Dwarves and spirits of the forest.
We sing on; let our singing rise up into the stars.
The Shaman's magic drum was still beating hard.
When a goblin brought me a new pint and together we roared!

Drink, Shout, Dance! People of the forest!
Sing with us! Who wants to brawl with me?
Who can shape a kantele from a pike's jaw?
Like the great One once did!

Close your eyes.
Calm your mind and drift away from the pain.
Beyond dreams.
Into the depths of the cauldron.

Like a rain it falls.
And mirrors natures healing powers.
Surrender this time.
And relief you shall find.

Catcher of souls.
Hunter of spirits.
Grant us a drop from the life's elixir.
I want to drawn all my misery.
Into the green orcs blood.
And brown swamp drink.
Fight against diminishing time.
Burden of a solitary warrior's life.
So catcher of souls.
Hunter of spirits.
Grant us the final drop from the life's elixir.

Bring me a mystic potion; it will heal my achin' wounds.
A taste so bitter that makes my broken soul feel so good.
It will make us sing and dance and give our mind some peace,
Or it might even unleash the beast in me!

[Moriel]

I cannot win this war,
It's wisest to close that door.
To erase what I've adored,
The memories and the dreams I used lived for.

I can recall the kill,
East of the lands called Ravenhill.
I thought it would be always clear,
but the end came too soon, my greatest fear.

Crossed the line that fateful time, my world is upside down,
Can't stay on, it's the time to turn around.
And I know, I have to let it go,
Escape the curse within the shadow of this mountain's snow.
And I know, when all the hope is gone
I have to run before it hits the break of dawn....

My world is dark and lonely,
I need a path to mercy.
Please shine the light, set me free.
Put me out of my misery.

Is there a way to finally let go?
Leave this prison, follow the Running Rivers flow.
I'm lost and confused, yearning for liberty.
Please shine the light and set me free.

Close my eyes for just one time and lost my paradise,
All I had is gone, what have I sacrificed?

And I know, I have to let it go,
Escape before before this curse becomes more.
I know, when all the hope is gone,
I have to run before it hits the break of dawn....

[Artorius]

Travel by the Winds

Wind across the barren land,
Lift my wings from the rivers strand.
My spirit is broken, but not my hands,
To write these lines and command.

Deceivers, unbelivers,
Fall to your knees,
And beg for the winds to roam.
Undying and defying North.
Winter bless your child,
I'm going home.

Sun burns my skin in this strange land.
Vast leagues of stone from where I stand.
Númenor ships are gone, but the sea will carry me.
Under your skies...

Deceivers, unbelivers,
Fall to your knees,
And beg for the winds to roam.
Undying and defying North.
Winter bless your child,
I'm going home.

The starlit sky, with known patterns above,
Clear on these far away shores.
Left alone with my memory,
Of the trees, the snow and the lakes.
Tonight I will catch the wind,
And escape this land of Mountain sons.

Deceivers, unbelivers,
Fall to your knees,
And beg for the winds to roam.
Undying and defying North.
Winter bless your child,
I'm going home.

Wind across the barren land,
Lift my wings from the rivers strand.

Deceivers, unbelivers,
Fall to your knees,
And beg for the winds to roam.
Undying and defying North.
Winter bless your child,
I'm going home.