The Road Goes Ever On

The Road Goes Ever On is a song cycle by the British writer and philologist J. RR Tolkien , which was put into music by Donald Swann and first published in 1967.

content

Preface

In the preface, Donald Swann explains how he came up with melodies for some of the poems from The Lord of the Rings . At a meeting (between 1965 and 1967) with Professor Tolkien in the house of his daughter Priscilla, it turned out that Tolkien was largely satisfied with the implementation. For the melody with which Swann had underlaid Galadriël's song Namárië , however, he had something else in mind. Tolkien hummed a Gregorian chant for him , and Swann adapted it for piano accompaniment. An interpretation of the song by the bass-baritone William Elvin can be heard on YouTube . Elvin sang songs 1-8 on the CD that was released for the third, English edition of the book. The preface ends with the words "Lands there are to West of West, where night is quiet and sleep is rest".

background

Notes for the instrumentation with guitar and piano are printed for the individual songs. The sides are decorated with Elvish characters by Tolkien. Some texts are published both in the Elven script ( Tengwar notation ) and language ( Quenya for Namárië and Sindarin for A Elbereth Gilthoniel ), as well as in the corresponding translation with notes and background information.

This book is not only intended for people interested in music, because it contributes to a better understanding of the cultures of the various mythological beings in Middle-earth through the additional information. It gives an insight into the linguistic background in Tolkien's poetry with grammatical explanations. Prior to the publication of the Silmarillion , this book was the only publicly available source on the First Ages of Middle-earth , besides the appendices in The Lord of the Rings .

The songs

The Road Goes Ever On.

Upon The Hearth The Fire Is Red.: This was taught to Frodo by Bilbo and they often sang it together. It is about a hike through woods and fields and contains in the first four lines of the third stanza part of the song that was sung for Denethor in the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings by Pippin in Minas Tirith. "At home the world fades away, with many paths it lies there ...". It is called a wandering song or after the beginning of the song The hearth is red with embers from the Lord of the Rings Book 1, Chapter 3 (p. 99/100).

In the Willow-meads Of Tasarinan.: Treebeard's Song, or I Walked the Corridors of Tasarinan in Spring ... from The Lord of the Rings Book 3 ( The Two Towers - Isengard's Betrayal ), Chapter 4 ( Treebeard , p. 520). This is a song that Ent Treebeard sings to hobbits Merrie and Pippin. It is about the areas of the lost Beleriand, in which Treebeard once wandered and which are only good memories. In contrast to his existence in the Fangorn Forest, of which he sings: “… And I wander in Tauremorna, in Aldalómë, in my own kingdom, in the Fangornland, where roots reach deep down. And the years are layered higher than leaves under trees in the Tauremornalómë. ”(Tauramorna,“ Black Forest ”, Aldalómë,“ in the tree darkness ”, Tauramornalómë,“ Black Forest dark ”).

In Western Lands.: Sam's song in the Ork tower . Sam is desperate and alone in the tower at the pass of Cirith Ungol and doesn't know what to do. In this dark place he thinks of his homeland and quietly and sadly begins to sing songs from his childhood. Suddenly new words form in his mind, he takes courage and sings loudly: “In the bright west it is already blooming, the tree swells from buds, the finches practice their tone, the torrent is whirling in the foam. … “From The Lord of the Rings Book 6 ( The Return of the King - The End of the Third Age ), Chapter 1 ( The Tower of Cirith Ungol , p. 998).

Namárië in Tengwar

Namárië.: Galadriël's song about Eldamar or Ai! Laurië lantar lassi súrinen… (Oh! The leaves fall like gold due to the wind) from The Lord of the Rings Book 2 ( The Companions - The Ring Goes South ), Chapter 8 ( Farewell to Lórien , pp. 422/423). Namárië is an Elvish farewell greeting, the word means “farewell” in English, literally it means “may good be around you” or “happiness be with you” (na- “it be”, mara “good, blessing”, -rië “surrounded be"). The song is about the longing of the Elf Galadriël for Valimar (Valarheim), the place of her birth, from which she was banished when she decidedto follow Feanor back to Middle-earth.; It is the longest coherent text Tolkien left in the Elven language Quenya. Galadriël sings this song as she bid farewell to the Lothlóriën ring. She laments the innumerable years that have passed since she left Valinor and wonders whether she will ever step into the high hall of Manwe again and fill her cup with the sweet mead. In this hope she wishes Frodo the best of luck in his mission, that it succeeds and that at least he can find his way to Valimar. “… Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar. Nai elyë hiruva. Namárië! "(Tolkien gives this translation in English:" Farewell! Be it that - find willt-thou - Valimar. Be it that - even thou - find will [it]. Farewell! "" Farewell! It may be so - you will find - Valimar. It may be - just you - will find [it]. Farewell! ").

I sit beside the fire.: Bilbo's Song from The Lord of the Rings Book 2 ( The Companions - The Ring Goes South ), Chapter 3 ( The Ring Goes South , p. 314). After Bilbo had given Frodo his mithril shirt and sword in Imladris , he asked him to bring old songs and stories from his adventure so that he could write them down. Then he sings this song, which is about passing away and the eternal circle of life. “I sit by the fire and think about everything I saw, and summer time and the flight of butterflies from yore are back. ... "

A Elbereth Gilthoniel in Tengwar

A Elbereth Gilthoniel.: from the Lord of the Rings Book 2 ( The Companions - The Ring Goes South ), Chapter 1 ( Many Encounters, pp. 101/102 and 269 , pp. 269/803/1131).

original	Translation (English, by Tolkien)	Translation (german)
A Elbereth Gilthoniel ,	O Elbereth Star-kindler	Oh Elbereth star igniter,
silivren penna míriel	(white) glittering slants down sparkling like jewels	white-sparkling descends like jewels
o menel aglar elenath!	from firmament glory (of) the star-host!	from heaven the shine of the star cluster!
Na-chaered palan-díriel	to-remote distance after-having-gazed from	Far away that I've looked
o galadremmin ennorath,	tree-tangled middle-lands,	the tree-strewn midlands,
Fanuilos, le linnathon	Fanuilos, to thee I will chant	Fanuilos, I will sing to you
nef aear, si nef aearon.	from this side of ocean, here from this side of the Great Ocean.	from this side of the sea, here from this side of the Great Sea!

Tolkien himself wrote in one of his letters that this is a “fragment of a hymn” and claims that this is just one of many verses. There are three entries in The Lord of the Rings on this hymn, but they are printed there without a translation. The Sindarin used in this song is a variation spoken mainly by the light elves from Imladris. It is influenced by Quenya, their original mother tongue. During his fight with the spider Shelob, Sam unconsciously calls on Elbereth for assistance (he cannot speak the Elvish language). “A Elbereth Gilthoniel o menel palan-díriel, le nallon sí di'nguruthos! A tiro nin, Fanuilos! "(" ..., I call you here under the shadow of death! Oh look at me, Fanuilos! ").

Errantry.: Odd journey from the adventures of Tom Bombadil . The poem was first published in 1933. It begins with the words: “There was a merry passenger, a messenger, a mariner: he built a gilded gondola to wander in, and had in her a load of yellow oranges and porridge for his provender; he perfumed her with marjoram and cardamom and lavender. ... "(" Once upon a time there was a driver, happy and always on top, he set up for a long journey, his light ship in gondola style, gilded it with gold from real sunshine, then perfumed the boat with cardamom and marjoram, he added lavender and drove off in peace. ”) It is about a seafarer, his search for a bride and his adventures.

additions

In some later editions the following songs were added:

Bilbo's Last Song.: Bilbo's farewell song . In the second and third, English (Harper Collins, including CD) edition of the book.

Lúthien Tinúviel.: From the Silmarillion , chapter 19 ( Von Beren and Lúthien , p. 239). Only in the third edition (including CD). The short song is in Gray Elvish (Sindarin) and has the following content: “Ir ithil ammen Eruchín menel-vîr síla díriel si loth a galadh lasto dîn ar Hîr Annûn Gilthoniel le linnon im Tinúviel” (“When the moon falls on us children Erus like a Heavenly jewel gleaming down here flower and tree listening quietly noble lady of the west Gilthoniel [for] you I sing Tinúviel. ")

literature

JRR Tolkien, Donald Swann: The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle. Houghton Mifflin, Boston 1967, ISBN 0-395-08258-7 .
Ebba-Margareta von Freymann : The adventures of Tom Bombadil and other poems from the Red Book. Klett-Cotta Verlag , Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-608-95009-5 .
JRR Tolkien: Bilbo's Last Song. Hutchinson, London 1990, ISBN 0-09-188488-8 .
JRR Tolkien: The Road Goes Ever On. The Tolkien song cycle. Hille Buchverlag, Hamburg 1999, ISBN 978-3-929174-93-9 .
JRR Tolkien: The Silmarillion. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-608-93245-4 .
JRR Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings. (1 volume, translated by Margaret Carroux ) Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-608-93830-2 .

CD

A CD was added to the third edition of the book.

Web links

Comment on greenmanreview.com
The notes on the title topic angerweit.tikon.ch
The road goes ever on. on donaldswann.co.uk

Individual evidence

^ The Road goes ever on. on youtube.com (sung by William Elvin to the music of Donald Swann)

↑ ^a ^b CD content on discogs.com, accessed January 9, 2013.

↑ Upon The Hearth The Fire Is Red on tolkiengateway.net

↑ In the Willow-meads Of Tasarinan - Lyrics on tolkiengateway.net

↑ Namárië - Lyriks on tolkiengateway.net and original poem 1952 performed by Tolkien on youtube.com, accessed on January 9, 2013.

↑ JRR Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings.

↑ The Road Goes Ever On. P. 64.

↑ The Lord of the Rings. P. 803.

↑ The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. P. 43.

[1] The Road goes ever on. on youtube.com (sung by William Elvin to the music of Donald Swann)

[CD-2] CD content on discogs.com, accessed January 9, 2013.

[3] Upon The Hearth The Fire Is Red on tolkiengateway.net

[4] In the Willow-meads Of Tasarinan - Lyrics on tolkiengateway.net


Fiction	Songs for the Philologists (1936) • The Hobbit (1937) • Blatt von Tüftler (1947) • The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun (1945) • Bauer Giles von Ham (1949) • The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhthelm's Son (1953) • The Lord of the Rings (1954/55) • The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Poems from the Red Book (1962) • Tree and Leaf (1964) • The Tolkien Reader (1966) • The Road Goes Ever On (1967) • Smith of Wootton Major (1967)
Posthumously published fiction	Santa's Letters (1976) • The Silmarillion (1977) • News from Middle-earth (1980) • Mr. Bliss (1982) • Bilbo's Farewell Song (1990) • The History of Middle-earth (12 volumes; 1983–1996) • The Lost Road and Other Writings (Volume 5, 1987) • Roverandom (1998) • The Children of Húrin (2007) • The History of The Hobbit (2007) • The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (2009) • King Arthur's Fall (2013) • The Story of Kullervo (2015) • Beren and Lúthien (2017) • The Fall of Gondolin (2018)
Academic works	A Middle English Vocabulary (1922) • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English text, 1925) • Some Contributions to Middle-English Lexicography (1925) • The Devil's Coach-Horses (1925) • Ancrene Wisse and Hali Meiðhad (1929) • The Name Nodens (1932) • Sigelwara Land Parts I and II, in Medium Aevum (1932–1934) • Chaucer as a Philologist: The Reeve's Tale (1934) • Beowulf: The Monsters and Their Critics (1936) • The Reeve's Tale: version prepared for recitation at the "summer diversions" (1939) • On Fairy-Stories (1939) • Sir Orfeo (1944) • Ofermod and Beorhtnoth's Death (1953) • Middle English "Losenger": Sketch of an etymological and semantic inquiry ( 1953) • Ancrene Wisse : The English Text of the Ancrene Riwle (1962) • English and Welsh (1963) • Introduction to Tree and Leaf (1964) • Contributions to the Jerusalem Bible (as translator and lexicographer) (1966) • Tolkien on Tolkien (autobiographical) (1966)
Posthumous academic publications	Sir Gawain and the Green Knight , Pearl and Sir Orfeo (translations into modern English, 1975) • Finn and Hengest (1982) • The Monsters and the Critics (1983) • Beowulf and the Critics (2002) • Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary (2014)