Bilbo's Last Song

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The Hobbit (1937) • The Lord of the Rings ( The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings [1954] • The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings [1954] • The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings [1955]) • The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book [1962] • The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle [1967] The scholar of music Emily Sulka notes that the song cycle was created because Swann and his wife liked Tolkien's writings, and set six of the poems to music. Tolkien liked five of the settings, but proposed a melody similar to a Gregorian chant in place of the sixth, for Namárië. She notes too that Swann wanted them to be performed as a group without applause between the songs. In her view, the cycle has the theme of travel: the walking songs launch into an adventure to unknown lands, but returning home; "In the Willow-Meads of Tasarinan" speaks of Treebeard's travels in many lands, from spring to winter; "In Western Lands" in contrast begins with Sam in despondent mood, but ends with a feeling of hope. "I Sit Beside the Fire" portrays a traveller, Bilbo, reflecting on his journeys; it ends with a quotation of the melody of "The Road Goes Ever On", a poem that recurs (adapted to each context) in The Lord of the Rings. Sulka thus sees Tolkien and Swann using the poems and music to link the story of the novel with "the road always continuing, even when one's individual travel is finished". She finds Swann's account of Tolkien's poems "highly effective". [10] In Tony Palmer's film Wagner (1982–83), Oliver can be seen playing the part of conductor Hans Richter and conducting in the pit of Richard Wagner's theatre at Bayreuth. Bilbo's Otherworld journey has further parallels in writings of Tolkien's own. The figure of the mortal who sails from the quotidian world to a paradise beyond the sea is a motif that recurs in Tolkien's poems and stories throughout his creative life. Examples are Roverandom, [11] Eriol in The Book of Lost Tales, [T 5] Tuor in Quenta Silmarillion, [T 6] Ar-Pharazôn in Akallabêth, [T 7] Ælfwine in The Lost Road, [T 8] St Brendan in Imram, [T 4] Sam and Gimli in The Lord of the Rings [T 9] and the narrator of " The Sea-Bell" in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. [T 10] [12] Publication history [ edit ] Little is known about the poem's development. According to Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond, it began as early as the 1920s or 1930s in a composition in Old Norse titled Vestr um haf–"West over sea". [8] As Scull and Hammond point out, the poem cannot have reached its final form until after Tolkien had conceived how The Lord of the Rings would conclude. [7] A progress report on the writing of the book that Tolkien sent to his son Christopher on 29 November 1944 shows that the coda of his story had taken shape in his mind long before it was published in 1955: "The final scene will be the passage of Bilbo and Elrond and Galadriel through the woods of the Shire on their way to the Grey Havens. Frodo will join them and pass over the Sea." [T 3] Precursors and parallels [ edit ] An image of the Navigator-monk St Brendan from St Benin's Church, Kilbannen. In a much reworked poem finally published in 1955 as Imram, Tolkien sends Brendan past the isle of Númenor to the supernal shores of the land of the blessed, before bringing him home again to die in Ireland. [T 4]

diPaolo, Marc (2018). Fire and Snow: Climate Fiction from The Inklings to Game of Thrones. Albany: State University of New York Press. p.36. ISBN 978-1-4384-7045-0. OCLC 1045630002. Tolkien, J. R. R. (1955). The Return of the King. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. OCLC 519647821. It was originally a composition in Old Norse, entitled Vestr um haf ("West over sea"), written as early as 1920s. In 1968, after Joy Hill, Tolkien's secretary, rediscovered it in a pile of books, Tolkien gave it to her as a gift for her assistance in the setting up of his new office.Although the book can at first sight seem mostly useful by musicians (particularly piano and guitar players), it has been found to have a wider use than this, allowing readers to understand the cultures of the various mythological beings presented in Middle-earth better, and helping linguists analyse Tolkien's poetry. For example, it contains one of the longest samples of the language Quenya. Our final trip to Middle-earth to finish with 'The Last Goodbye' sung by Billy Boyd". 20 October 2014 . Retrieved 26 December 2022. The song is included in the BBC's 1981 radio version of The Lord of the Rings, with the music performed by Stephen Oliver. John Le Mesurier, who plays Bilbo [5] chants the first verse but not the second verse, and the third verse was sung by a boy in soprano. [ citation needed]

This book is beautifully illustrated with gorgeous settings that show Bilbo on his way to Valinor. The illustrations begin with Bilbo at Rivendell. He talks with Elrond about making the last trip, and they make plans for travelling. Bilbo and the company of Elves pass through the Shire, where Frodo and Sam join them. They reach the harbor where Cirdan the shipwright is waiting to greet them. They say goodbye to Sam, Merry, and Pippin. The final illustration shows Bilbo reaching the shores of Valinor. Surrounding the text of the poem is lovely artwork of trees, flowers, and vines with little animals and birds. After Tolkien's death in 1973, Hill showed the poem to Donald Swann, who liked the poem so much that he set it to music and included it in the second edition of The Road Goes Ever On in 1978. [1] The poem was also illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and published as a poster on 26 November 1974.

The song can be heard in the 1981 BBC radio version, sung by Bilbo ( John Le Mesurier) to a tune by Stephen Oliver.

Harvey, Sir Paul: The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 4th edition; Oxford University Press, 1967; p. 53 Oliver, Stephen (composer), Clarke, Oz; James, David; Vine, Jeremy (vocals) (1981). Music From The BBC Radio Dramatisation Of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings (Vinyl). London: BBC Records. REH 415. The final line of the verse is a variant on the phrase "East of the Sun and West of the Moon", which is used in fairy-stories like the Norwegian tale of that name for another world that is fantastically difficult to reach – in this case Aman, which can only be reached by the Straight Road. [1] Musical arrangements [ edit ] Classical music [ edit ] The Danish Tolkien Ensemble has set all the versions of "The Road Goes Ever On" to music. Swank, Kris (2015). "The Irish Otherworld Voyage of Roverandom". Tolkien Studies. 12 (1): 31–57. doi: 10.1353/tks.2015.0011. ISSN 1547-3163. S2CID 170173591.The scholar of humanities Brian Rosebury quotes Frodo's recollection to the other hobbits of Bilbo's thoughts on 'The Road': "He used often to say there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs were at every doorstep, and every path was its tributary. 'It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,' he used to say. 'You step into the Road, and if you don't keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.'" Rosebury comments that the "homespun symbolism" here is plain enough, that "the Road stands for life, or rather for its possibilities, indeed probabilities, of adventure, commitment, and danger; for the fear of losing oneself, and the hope of homecoming". [2] He observes further that Middle-earth is distinctly "a world of roads", as seen in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, both of which "begin and end at the door of Bag-End". [2] i. The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii. The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii. The Lays of Beleriand · iv. The Shaping of Middle-earth · v. The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi. The Return of the Shadow · vii. The Treason of Isengard · viii. The War of the Ring · ix. Sauron Defeated · x. Morgoth's Ring · xi. The War of the Jewels · xii. The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·