Another Tolkien song, in excitement for the new Hobbit trailer released today!

Couple of things- this one has some midi sounds in it that make it best with headphones, forgive my terrible attempts at percussion (i. e. hitting my guitar for two minutes), AND LASTLY AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, IMAGINE THIS SUNG BY DWARVES AND NOT ME BECAUSE THAT WOULD BE GRRRREEEAT. Oh, also this is my first time experimenting with the midi voices on garageband (the bass that comes in midway), so I hope that turned out all right as well.

As always, the poetry is by J. R. R. Tolkien and the music is my own.

 The King Beneath the Mountain from The Hobbit

The King beneath the mountains,
    The King of carven stone,
The lord of silver fountains
    Shall come into his own!

His crown shall be upholden,
    His harp shall be restrung,
His halls shall echo golden
    To songs of yore re-sung.

The woods shall wave on mountains
    And grass beneath the sun;
His wealth shall flow in fountains
    And the rivers golden run.

The streams shall run in gladness,
    The lakes shall shine and burn,
All sorrow fail and sadness
    At the Mountain-king’s return!

The King Beneath The Mountain

Hey Guys! This isn’t a new song, but it’s a rerecorded version of the very first Tolkien song I put to music: I Sit Beside the FIre and Think from The Fellowship of the Ring, which is still one of my Tolkien favorite poems.

Also exciting news! I finally have got a bandcamp page, and I’ve uploaded this song to it as well as the version of ‘Farewell We Call’ from January, so you can download them for free! Link is here! http://adelemcallister.bandcamp.com/

I’m going to try to clean up the rest of the music similarly, but so far two tracks and COMPLETELY FREE!

But please, please listen and share if you enjoyed it, check out the bandcamp page and download the music! Thank you so much for listening and your support!

I Sit Beside the Fire and Think - J. R. R. Tolkien

“I sit beside the fire and think 
Of all that I have seen
Of meadow flowers and butterflies
In summers that have been

Of yellow leaves and gossamer
In autumns that there were
With morning mist and silver sun
And wind upon my hair

I sit beside the fire and think
Of how the world will be
When winter comes without a spring 
That I shall ever see

For still there are so many things
That I have never seen
In every wood in every spring
There is a different green

I sit beside the fire and think
Of people long ago
And people that will see a world
That I shall never know

But all the while I sit and think
Of times there were before
I listen for returning feet 
And voices at the door”


I Sit Beside The Fire And Think

Rerecorded and expanded version of this song!

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Fellowship of the Ring. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

Frodo sings this in Lothlorien in memory of Gandalf; Sam adds the final verse.

When evening in the Shire was grey
his footsteps on the Hill were heard;
before the dawn he went away
on journey long without a word.

From Wilderland to Western shore,
from northern waste to southern hill,
through dragon-lair and hidden door
and darkling woods he walked at will.

With Dwarf and Hobbit, Elves and Men,
with mortal and immortal folk,
with bird on bough and beast in den,
in their own secret tongues he spoke.

A deadly sword, a healing hand,
a back that bent beneath its load;
a trumpet-voice, a burning brand,
a weary pilgrim on the road.

A lord of wisdom throned he sat,
swift in anger, quick to laugh;
an old man in a battered hat
who leaned upon a thorny staff.

He stood upon the bridge alone
and Fire and Shadow both defied;
his staff was broken on the stone,
in Khazad-dûm his wisdom died.

The finest rockets ever seen:
they burst in stars of blue and green,
or after thunder golden showers
came falling like a rain of flowers.


Lament For Gandalf

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Fellowship of the Ring

This song is dedicated to Estelwen Edhilyen!

(written 03/2015)

All That Is Gold

finally getting around to polishing and cleaning up some of the older tolkien songs!

melody is my own, the text is from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. 

Treebeard’s Song - The Two Towers, J. R. R. Tolkien

In the willow-meads of Tasarinan I walked in the Spring.
Ah! the sight and the smell of the spring in Nan-tasarion!
And I said that was good.
I wandered in the Summer in the elm-woods of Ossiriand.
Ah! the light and the music in the summer of the Seven rivers of Ossir!
And I thought that was best.
To the beeches of Neldoreth I came in the Autumn,
Ah! the gold and the red and the sighing leaves in the
Autumn in Taur-na-neldor!
It was more than my desire.
To the pine-trees upon the highland of Dorthonion I climbed in the Winter.
Ah! the wind and the whiteness and the black branches of
winter upon Orod-na-Thá»n!
My voice went up and sang in the sky.
And now all those lands lie under the wave,
And I walk in Ambaróna, in Tauremorna, in Aldalómá«,
In my own land, in the country of Fangorn,
where the roots are long, 
And the years lie thicker than the leaves
In Tauremornalómá

In The Willow Meads Of Tasarinan

cleaner recording of an older song! hoping to get a few of these done and to take down the older, sloppier recordings. hope you enjoy!

music is mine, the lyrics are from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit

Roads go ever ever on,
Over rock and under tree,
By caves where never sun has shone,
By streams that never find the sea;
Over snow by winter sown,
And through the merry flowers of June,
Over grass and over stone,
And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever ever on,
Under cloud and under star.
Yet feet that wandering have gone
Turn at last to home afar.
Eyes that fire and sword have seen,
And horror in the halls of stone
Look at last on meadows green,
And trees and hills they long have known.

Roads Go Ever Ever On

can you believe this song's  three years old? here's a new, clean version of it! 

music is original (guitar, violin, vocals are also me); words are from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King

To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling.
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;
For our days are ending and our years failing.
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressëa, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people for ever!

(written 09/2012)

To The Sea, to the Sea!

It's been a little while since I posted a new Tolkien song, but here's a new short one, after a couple of people have requested it!

As always with these, it's written and performed by me, but the lyrics are from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring)

Also, some exciting news- you can download this one and several others from my bandcamp page for free! Here's the link: https://adelemcallister.bandcamp.com/album/roads-go-ever-ever-on-songs-from-tolkiens-lord-of-the-rings

Hope you enjoy and thank you for listening!

Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing;
the last whose realm was fair and free
between the Mountains and the Sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen.
His shining helm afar was seen;
the countless stars of heaven's field
were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,
and where he dwelleth none can say;
for into darkness fell his star
in Mordor where the shadows are.

Gil-Galad Was An Elven King

Been awhile since I posted last though I have been writing a ton. Here's a small Tolkien piece in the meantime! 

Words are from J. R. R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, music is my own. Thanks so much for listening!

O! Wanderers in the shadowed land 
despair not! For though dark they stand, 
all woods there be must end at last, 
and see the open sun go past: 
the setting sun, the rising sun,
the day's end, or the day begun. 
For east or west all woods must fail...

Old Forest Song

Hey all, new Tolkien song! The music is mine, the words are Tolkien's from The Fellowship of the Ring. Hope you enjoy!

The song is available for free download on my bandcamp, but if you would like to pay for it, for the month of February, I am donation 100% of the proceeds to the American Refugee Committee and the National Immigration Law Center.

https://adelemcallister.bandcamp.com/album/roads-go-ever-ever-on-songs-from-tolkiens-lord-of-the-rings

Song of Eärendil

Hi guys! Super excited and grateful to announce that in the past month, was able to raise $86 for the American Refugee Committee and the National Immigration Law Center.

 Thank you all for your generosity and support! As a very quick thank you- here's a short little setting of a poem from The Fellowship of the Ring- words are Tolkien's and the music is my own. Plus- I will have something new/longer in a week!

(ps. The picture is a sign in The Eagle and Child from when I visited Oxford two years ago! :) thought it was fitting for this poem!)

Ho, Ho, Ho! To The Bottle I Go!

Bregalad's Song, from The Two Towers. Words are Tolkien's, music is my own.

O Orofarnë, Lassemista, Carnimírië!
O rowan fair, upon your hair how white the blossom lay!
O rowan mine, I saw you shine upon a summer's day,
Your rind so bright, your leaves so light, your voice so cool and soft:
Upon your head how golden-red the crown you bore aloft!
O rowan dead, upon your head your hair is dry and grey;
Your crown is spilled, your voice is stilled for ever and a day.
O Orofarnë, Lassemista, Carnimírië!

Bregalad's Song

It’s been a minute since I last posted! This little 40-second song is easing me back in; I have several more songs just waiting to be recorded and shared! Bilbo shares this poem with Frodo before the Fellowship sets out from Rivendell.

As always, the words are Tolkien’s; the music is original. Hope you enjoy!

When winter first begins to bite
and stones crack in the frosty night,
when pools are black and trees are bare,
'tis evil in the Wild to fare.

Adele McAllister's Album

When Winter First Begins to Bite

Another Fellowship of the Ring song- this one was one of the sillier ones and was a lot of fun to sing! Hope you enjoy!

(Music is original, lyrics are from Tolkien. The image art is Ted Nasmith’s illustration of this scene.)

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!

Water Hot is a Noble Thing! (The Bath Song)

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Fellowship of the Ring. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

When Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin encounter Gildor's company of elves in the Woody End, this is the song they sing.

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.

07/31/12

Snow White! Snow White! O Lady clear!

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Fellowship of the Ring. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

As the fellowship travel through Lothlorien, Legolas sings this song:

An Elven-maid there was of old,
A shining star by day:
Her mantle white was hemmed with gold,
Her shoes of silver-grey.

A star was bound upon her brows,
A light was on her hair
As sun upon the golden boughs
In Lórien the fair.

Her hair was long, her limbs were white,
And fair she was and free;
And in the wind she went as light
As leaf of linden-tree.

Beside the falls of Nimrodel,
By water clear and cool,
Her voice as falling silver fell
Into the shining pool.

Where now she wanders none can tell,
In sunlight or in shade;
For lost of yore was Nimrodel
And in the mountains strayed.

The elven-ship in haven grey
Beneath the mountain-lee
Awaited her for many a day
Beside the roaring sea.

A wind by night in Northern lands
Arose, and loud it cried,
And drove the ship from elven-strands
Across the streaming tide.

When dawn came dim the land was lost,
The mountains sinking grey
Beyond the heaving waves that tossed
Their plumes of blinding spray.

Amroth beheld the fading shore
Now low beyond the swell,
And cursed the faithless ship that bore
Him far from Nimrodel.

Of old he was an Elven-king,
A lord of tree and glen,
When golden were the boughs in spring
In fair Lothlórien.

From helm to sea they saw him leap,
As arrow from the string,
And dive into the water deep,
As mew upon the wing.

The wind was in his flowing hair,
The foam about him shone;
Afar they saw him strong and fair
Go riding like a swan.

But from the West has come no word,
And on the Hither Shore
No tidings Elven-folk have heard
Of Amroth evermore.

07/31/12

The Lay of Nimrodel

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Hobbit. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

The dwarves sing this while gathered around the fire at Beorn's home.

The wind was on the withered heath,
but in the forest stirred no leaf:
there shadows lay by night and day,
and dark things silent crept beneath.

The wind came down from mountains cold,
and like a tide it roared and rolled;
the branches groaned, the forest moaned,
and leaves were laid upon the mould.

The wind went on from West to East;
all movement in the forest ceased,
but shrill and harsh across the marsh
its whistling voices were released.

The grasses hissed, their tassles bent,
the reeds were rattling -- on it went
o'er shaken pool under the heavens cool
where racing clouds were torn and rent.

It passed the lonely Mountain bare
and swept above the dragon's lair:
there black and dark lay boulders stark
and flying smoke was in the air.

It left the world and took its flight
over the wide seas of the night,
The moon set sail upon the gale,
and stars were fanned to leaping light.

08/16/12

The Wind was on the withered heath

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Return of the King. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

Samwise sings this in Mordor as he rescues Frodo from the orcs in Cirith Ungol.

In western lands beneath the Sun
  the flowers may rise in Spring,
the trees may bud, the waters run,
  the merry finches sing.
Or there maybe 'tis cloudless night
  and swaying beeches bear
the Elven-stars as jewels white
  amid their branching hair.

Though here at journey's end I lie
  in darkness buried deep,
beyond all towers strong and high,
  beyond all mountains steep,
above all shadows rides the Sun
  and Stars forever dwell:
I will not say the Day is done,
  nor bid the Stars farewell.  

07/31/12

In Western lands beneath the sun

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Fellowship of the Ring. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

Gimli sings this song as the fellowship traveled through Moria. The background vocals double each other in different octaves- hope it gives it a sort of echoey cavernous feel... 

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 shadow 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-dum. 
But still the sunken stars appear 
In dark and windless Mirrormere; 
There lies his crown in water deep, 
Till Durin wakes again from sleep

09/22/12

The World was young, the mountains green

Rough copy!

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Two Towers. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

Through Rohan over fen and field where the long grass grows
The West Wind comes walking, and about the walls it goes.
'What news from the West, O wandering wind, do you bring to me tonight?
Have you seen Boromir the Tall by moon or by starlight?'
'I saw him ride over seven streams, over waters wide and grey;
I saw him walk in empty lands, until he passed away
Into the shadows of the North. I saw him then no more.
The North Wind may have heard the horn of the son of Denethor.'
'O Boromir! From the high walls westward I looked afar,
But you came not from the empty lands where no men are.'

From the mouths of the Sea the South Wind flies, from the sandhills and the stones;
The wailing of the gulls it bears, and at the gate it moans.
'What news from the South, O sighing wind, do you bring to me at eve?
Where now is Boromir the fair? He tarries and I grieve.'
'Ask not of me where he doth dwell --- so many bones there lie
On the white shores and the dark shores under the stormy sky;
So many have passed down Anduin to find the flowing Sea.
Ask of the North Wind news of them the North Wind sends to me!'
'O Boromir! Beyond the gate the seaward road runs south,
But you came not with the wailing gulls from the grey sea's mouth.'

From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls;
And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls.
'What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to me today?
What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away.'
'Beneath Amon Hen I heard his cry. There many foes he fought.
His cloven shield, his broken sword, they to the water brought.
His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest;
And Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, bore him upon its breast.'
'O Boromir! The Tower of Gaurd shall ever northward gaze
To Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, until the end of days

10/02/12

Lament for Boromir

Music and lyrics are both mine, but it’s inspired in part by the poem Ulysses by Tennyson and borrows a line from the poem: ‘I am become a name for always roaming with hungry heart’.  Thanks for listening!

Lyrics:
I am not a young man
I am no longer strong
But when the sea breezes murmur in my ear
I must heed its siren song

I am become a name for always roaming with hungry heart
And I have passed through light and shadow
Only to find that I must wither or depart

I am become a name for always roaming with restless mind
And I have wandered far for many years
Searching for the home that I had left behind (change: that I now leave behind)

Many call me a great man
But so few have understood
that in seeking greatness and glory
I’m neither happy nor am good

I am become a name for always roaming with hungry heart
And I have passed through fire and through the  storm
Only to find I must wither or depart

And I am become a name for always roaming with burning soul
And I have fought both demons and the gods
But that was then, and now I am old

I wish I could lay down beside you 
when the end of days comes rushing in (end comes rushing)
like a mighty wind (like a mighty wind)

But I don't think I can 
For I have never been that man (I am not that man)
And I'd rather take my chances than give in (I will not give in)

So I'll sail off in the night 
and set my courses for the stars  (I'll sail to the stars)
Till spirit pales and body fails (Until my body fails)

Push off, Push off and fare thee well
I’ll seek my end and meet it standing tall
Push off! To where? No man can tell
but know just this, I loved you well

11/11/12

Ulysses

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Fellowship of the Ring. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

This is Galadriel's lament in Lothlorien. My apologies in advance for mangling the Quenya- I don't speak it and have nearly no idea what I'm doing.

Ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen,
yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron!
Yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier
mi oromardi lisse-miruvóreva
Andúnë pella, Vardo tellumar
nu luini yassen tintilar i eleni
ómaryo airetári-lírinen.

Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?

An sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo
ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë,
ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë;
ar sindanóriello caita mornië
i falmalinnar imbë met, ar hísië
untúpa Calaciryo miri oialë.
Sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar!

Namárië! Nai hiruvalyë Valimar.
Nai elyë hiruva. Namárië!

——-

Ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind, 
long years numberless as the wings of trees! 
The years have passed like swift draughts 
of the sweet mead in lofty halls beyond the West, 
beneath the blue vaults of Varda
wherein the stars tremble in the song of her voice, holy and queenly. 

Who now shall refill the cup for me? 

For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars, 
from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds, 
and all paths are drowned deep in shadow; 
and out of a grey country darkness lies on the foaming waves between us,
and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for ever. 
Now lost, lost to those from the East is Valimar!

Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar. 
Maybe even thou shalt find it. Farewell!

12/13/12

Namárië

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Two Towers. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

Aragorn sings this for Legolas and Gimli in Rohan

“Where now are the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Who shall gather the smoke of the deadwood burning,
Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?”

(recorded 12/14/2012, written 08/24/12)

Where now the horse and the rider?

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Hobbit. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

One of the more childish poems from The Hobbit and despite the parts, still one of the more simple settings, but it was fun. 

The dragon is withered,
His bones are now crumbled;
His armour is shivered,
His splendour is humbled!
Though sword shall be rusted,
And throne and crown perish
With strength that men trusted
And wealth that they cherish,
Here grass is still growing,
And leaves are yet swinging,
The white water flowing,
And elves are yet singing
     Come! Tra-la-la-lally!
     Come back to the valley!

The stars are far brighter
Than gems without measure,
The moon is far whiter
Than silver in treasure:
The fire is more shining
On hearth in the gloaming
Than gold won by mining,
So why go a-roaming?
     O! Tra-la-la-lally 
     Come back to the Valley.

O! Where are you going,
So late in returning?
The river is flowing,
The stars are all burning!
O! Whither so laden,
So sad and so dreary?
Here elf and elf-maiden
Now welcome the weary
     With Tra-la-la-lally
     Come back to the Valley,
          Tra-la-la-lally
          Fa-la-la-lally
               Fa-la!

The Dragon is Withered

My own setting of Robert Burns' poem.

The gloomy night is gath'ring fast,
Loud roars the wild, inconstant blast;
Yon murky cloud is foul with rain,
I see it driving o'er the plain;
The hunter now has left the moor,
The scatter'd coveys meet secure;
While here I wander, prest with care,
Along the lonely banks of Ayr.

The autumn mourns her rip'ning corn,
By early winter's ravage torn;
Across her placid, azure sky,
She sees the scowling tempest fly:
Chill runs my blood to hear it rave -
I think upon the stormy wave,
Where many a danger I must dare,
For from the bonnie banks of Ayr.

'Tis not the surging billow's roar,
'Tis not that fatal, deadly shore;
Tho' death in ev'ry shape appear,
The wretched have no more to fear!
But round my heart the ties are bound,
That heart transpierc'd with many a wound;
These bleed afresh, those ties I tear,
To leave the bonnie banks of Ayr.

Farewell old Coila's hills and dales,
Her heathy moors and winding vales;
The scenes where wretched fancy roves,
Pursuing past, unhappy loves!
Farewell, my friends! farewell, my foes!
My peace with these, my love with those -
The bursting tears my heart declare;
Farewell, the bonnie banks of Ayr!

Farewell to the Banks of Ayr

an original setting of the poem by John Masefield

IN the harbor, in the island, in the Spanish Seas,
Are the tiny white houses and the orange trees,
And day-long, night-long, the cool and pleasant breeze
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.

There is the red wine, the nutty Spanish ale,
The shuffle of the dancers, the old salt's tale,
The squeaking fiddle, and the soughing in the sail
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.

And o' nights there's fire-flies and the yellow moon,
And in the ghostly palm-trees the sleepy tune
Of the quiet voice calling me, the long low croon
Of the steady Trade Winds blowing.

Trade Winds

My own music set to text from J. R. R. Tolkien's poem from The Fellowship of the Ring. Disclaimer: I do not own the text; this is a fanwork done purely for the love of the source. Thanks for listening!

I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,
And by the strand of Ilmarin there grew a golden Tree.
Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,
In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.
There long the golden leaves have grown upon the branching years,
While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears.
O Lórien! The Winter comes, the bare and leafless Day;
The leaves are falling in the stream, the River flows away.
O Lórien! Too long I have dwelt upon this Hither Shore
And in a fading crown have twined the golden elanor.
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?

(02/19/2012)

I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold

Poem by J. R. R. Tolkien, music is mine. Experimenting with drop D!

Day is ended, dim my eyes,
but journey long before me lies.
Farewell, friends! I hear the call.
The ship's beside the stony wall.
Foam is white and waves are grey;
beyond the sunset leads my way.
Foam is salt, the wind is free;
I hear the rising of the Sea.

Farewell, friends! The sails are set,
the wind is east, the moorings fret.
Shadows long before me lie,
beneath the ever-bending sky,
but islands lie behind the Sun
that I shall raise ere all is done;
lands there are to west of West,
where night is quiet and sleep is rest.

Guided by the Lonely Star,
beyond the utmost harbour-bar,
I'll find the heavens fair and free,
and beaches of the Starlit Sea.
Ship, my ship! I seek the West,
and fields and mountains ever blest.
Farewell to Middle-earth at last.
I see the Star above my mast!

(3/1/2013)

Bilbo's Last Song

Super, super rough copy of Kortirion Among the Trees by J. R. R. Tolkien. But it's finally finished! With all the words and the awkward number of lines and rhyme scheme constantly changing and sheer length, this was not a friendly poem to set, ha. Also, sorry for the stopping and starting- this wasn't done in one take so there's a few awkward transitions. If you sit through the whole thing (12 minutes, oh god, why),  you get a prize, which is my gratitude and probably bragging rights as well.

I

O fading town upon an inland hill,
Old shadows linger in thine ancient gate,
Thy robe is grey, thine old heart now is still;
Thy towers silent in the mist await
Their crumbling end, while through the storeyed elms
The Gliding Water leaves these inland realms,
And slips between long meadows to the Sea,
Still bearing downward over murmurous falls
One day and then another to the Sea;
And slowly thither many years have gone,
Since first the Elves here built Kortirion.

O climbing town upon thy windy hill
With winding streets, and alleys shady-walled
Where now untamed the peacocks pace in drill
Majestic, sapphirine, and emerald;
Amid the girdle of the sleeping land,
Where silver falls the rain and gleaming stand
The whispering host of old deep-rooted trees
That cast long shadows in many a bygone noon,
And murmured many centuries in the breeze;
Thou art the city of the Land of Elms,
Alalminore in the Faery Realms.

Sing of thy trees, Kortirion, again:
The beech on hill, the willow in the fen,
Within thine aged courts that muse
In sombre splendour all the day;
Until the twinkle of the early stars
Comes glinting through their sable bars,
And the white moon climbing up the sky
Looks down upon the ghosts of trees that die
Slowly and silently from day to day.
O Lonely Isle, here was thy citadel,
Ere bannered summer from his fortress fell.
Then full of music were thine elms:
Green was their armour, green their helms,
The Lords and Kings of all thy trees.
Sing, then, of elms, renowned Kortirion,
That under summer crowds their full sail on,
And shrouded stand like masts of verdurous ships,
A fleet of galleons that proudly slips
Across long sunlit seas.

II

Thou art the inmost province of the fading isle,
Where linger yet the Lonely Companies;
Still, undespairing, here they slowly file
Along thy paths with solemn harmonies:
The holy people of an elder day,
Immortal Elves, that singing fair and fey
Of vanished things that were, and could be yet,
Pass like a wind amoung the rustling trees,
A wave of bowing grass, and we forget
Their tender voices like wind-shaken bells
Of flowers, their gleaming hair like golden asphodels.

Once Spring was here with joy, and all was fair
Amoung the trees; but Summer drowsing by the stream
Heard trembling in her heart the secret player
Pipe, out beyond the tangle of her forest dream,
The long-drawn tune that elvish voices made
Forseeing Winter through the leafy glade;
The late flowers nodding on the ruined walls
Then stooping heard afar that haunting flute
Beyond the sunny aisles and tree-propped halls;
Fro thin and clear and cold the note,
As strand of silver glass remote.

Then all thy trees, Kortirion, were bent,
And shook with sudden whispering lament:
For passing were the days, and doomed the nights
When flitting ghost-moths danced as satellites
Round tapers in the moveless air;
And doomed already were the radiant dawns,
The fingered sunlight drawn across the lawns;
The odour and the slumbrous noise of meads,
Where all the sorrel, flowers, and plumed weeds
Go down before the scyther’s share.
When cool October robed her dewy furze
In netted sheen of gold-shot gossamers,
Then the wide-umbraged elms began to fail;
Their mourning multitude of leaves grew pale,
Seeing afar the icy spears
Of Winter marching blue behind the sun
Of bright All-Hallows. Then their hour was done,
And wanly borne on wings of amber pale
They beat the wide airs of the fading vale,
And flew like birds across the misty meres.

III

This is the season dearest to the heart,
And time most fitting to the ancient town,
With waning musics sweet that slow depart
Winding with echoed sadness faintly down
The paths of stranded mist. O gentle time,
When the late mornings are begemmed with rime,
And early shadows fold the distant woods!
The Elves go silent by, their shining hair
They cloak in twilight under secret hoods
Of grey, and filmy purple, and long bands
Of frosted starlight sewn by silver hands.

And oft they dance beneath the roofless sky,
When naked elms entwine in branching lace
The Seven Stars, and through the boughs the eye
Stares golden-beaming in the round moon’s face.
O holy Elves and fair immortal Folk,
You sing then ancient songs that once awoke
Under primeval stars before the Dawn;
You whirl then dancing with the eddying wind,
As once you danced upon the shimmering lawn
In Elvenhome, before we were, before
You crossed wide seas unto this mortal shore.

Now are thy trees, old grey Kortirion,
Through pallid mists seen rising tall and wan,
Like vessels floating vague, and drifting far
Down opal seas beyond the shadowy bar
Of cloudy ports forlorn;
Leaving behind for ever havens loud,
Wherein their crews a while held feasting proud
And lordly ease, they now like windy ghosts
Are wafted by slow airs to windy coasts,
And glimmering sadly down the tide are borne.
Bare are thy trees become, Kortirion;
The rotted raiment from their bones is gone.
The seven candles of the Silver Wain,
Like lighted tapers in a darkened fane,
Now flare above the fallen year.
Though court and street now cold and empty lie,
And Elves dance seldom neath the barren sky,
Yet under the white moon there is a sound
Of buried music still beneath the ground.
When winter comes, I would meet winter here.

I would not seek the desert, or red palaces
Where reigns the sun, nor sail to magic isles,
Nor climb the hoary mountains’ stony terraces;
And tolling faintly over windy miles
To my heart calls no distant bell that rings
In crowded cities of the Earthly Kings.
For here is heartsease still, and deep content,
Though sadness haunt the Land of withered Elms
(Alalminore in the Faery Realms);
And making music still in sweet lament
The Elves here holy and immortal dwell,
And on the stones and trees there lies a spell.

Kortirion Among the Trees I, II, III

Here’s song I wrote that I just finally got around to after someone requested it a few months ago- The Oath of Fëanor, as described in The Silmarillion, though the actual text is from Annals of Aman (Morgoth's Ring). I know that this is probably a poem that my voice is less suited to than most of the others I've done because of the darkness and fury in it, but I had a go anyways. Hope I did it at least some justice.  Ahhh!! Also - further experimentation with drop D tuning!

The Oath of Fêanor -  J. R. R. Tolkien

“Be he foe or friend, be he foul or clean
Brood of Morgoth or bright Vala,
Elda or Maia or Aftercomer,
Man yet unborn upon Middle-earth,
Neither law, nor love, nor league of swords,
Dread nor danger, not Doom itself
Shall defend him from Fëanáro, and Fëanáro’s kin,
Whoso hideth or hoardeth, or in hand taketh,
Finding keepeth or afar casteth
A Silmaril. This swear we all…
Death we will deal him ere Day’s ending,
Woe unto world’s end! Our word hear thou,
Eru Allfather! To the everlasting
Darkness doom us if our deed faileth…
On the holy mountain hear in witness
and our vow remember,
Manwë and Varda!”

(03/06/2013)

The Oath of Fëanor

a draft of the first part of a bigger project; the first minute is fairly slow, but it picks up soon enough, no worries. I've never written anything like this before, so hopefully, though it's still messy, it's not so awful. 

The very beginning will probably be expanded to be more fitting to the text, the transitions are super messy and don't flow well, some of the harmonies clash and need adjusting, or just need to be filled in- all in all, very much a wip.

But it's so far away from anything I've done before, feedback is really, really appreciated.

"There was Eru, the One, who in Arda is called Ilúvatar; and he made first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, that were the offspring of his thought, and they were with him before aught else was made. And he spoke to them, propounding to them themes of music; and they sang before him, and he was glad.

For a long while they sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of the mind of Ilúvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and harmony.

Then Ilúvatar said to them: 'Of the theme that I have declared to you, I will now that ye make in harmony together a Great Music. And since I have kindled you with the Flame Imperishable, ye shall show forth your powers in adorning this theme, each with his own thoughts and devices, if he will. But I will sit and hearken, and be glad that through you great beauty has been wakened into song"

-The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien

(This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.- Leonard Bernstein)

(04/15/2013)

Ainulindalë

I’ve been getting a handful of people asking after this song, so I thought I'd attempt it: here goes! Sorry for the blips in the recording towards the end. Music is mine- poetry is Tolkien’s.

"The leaves were long, the grass was green,
The hemlock-umbels tall and fair,
And in the glade a light was seen
Of stars in shadow shimmering.
Tinuviel was dancing there
To music of a pipe unseen,
And light of stars was in her hair,
And in her raiment glimmering.

There Beren came from mountains cold.
And lost he wandered under leaves,
And where the Elven-river rolled
He walked alone and sorrowing.
He peered between the hemlock-leaves
And saw in wonder flowers of gold
Upon her mantle and her sleeves,
And her hair like shadow following.

Enchantment healed his weary feet
That over hills were doomed to roam;
And forth he hastened, strong and fleet,
And grasped at moonbeams glistening.
Through woven woods in Elvenhome
She lightly fled on dancing feet,
And left him lonely still to roam
In the silent forest listening.

He heard there oft the flying sound
Of feet as light as linden-leaves,
Or music welling underground,
In hidden hollows quavering.
Now withered lay the hemlock-sheaves,
And one by one with sighing sound
Whispering fell the beachen leaves
In wintry woodland wavering.

He sought her ever, wandering far
Where leaves of years were thickly strewn,
By light of moon and ray of star
In frosty heavens shivering.
Her mantle glinted in the moon,
As on a hill-top high and far
She danced, and at her feet was strewn
A mist of silver quivering.

When winter passed, she came again,
And her song released the sudden spring,
Like rising lark, and falling rain,
And melting water bubbling.
He saw the elven-flowers spring
About her feet, and healed again
He longed by her to dance and sing
Upon the grass untroubling.

Again she fled, but swift he came,
Tinuviel! Tinuviel!
He called her by her elvish name;
And there she halted listening.
One moment stood she, and a spell
His voice laid on her: Beren came,
And doom fell on Tinuviel
That in his arms lay glistening.

As Beren looked into her eyes
Within the shadows of her hair,
The trembling starlight of the skies
He saw there mirrored shimmering.
Tinuviel the elven-fair,
Immortal maiden elven-wise,
About him cast her shadowy hair
And arms like silver glimmering.

Long was the way that fate them bore,
O'er stony mountains cold and grey,
Through halls of iron and darkling door,
And woods of nightshade morrowless.
The Sundering Seas between them lay,
And yet at last they met once more,
And long ago they passed away
In the forest singing sorrowless."

(04/17/2013)

The Lay of Luthien

I'm a singer-songwriter with a passion for folk music and high fantasy, currently living in Washington DC.  A vocalist, guitarist, and (hesitant) violinist, I combine finger-picked guitar, intricate vocal harmonies, and folk-inspired melodies to create my music. 

If you love Lord of the Rings, please check out ‘Roads Go Ever, Ever On’, my collection of J. R. R. Tolkien’s poems set to original music. I also have a fair number of Age of Sail poems floating around as well (pun intended), as well as other poetry settings.

In addition to writing and setting songs, I’ve also acted in and composed/arranged/performed music for several theatrical productions including Twelfth Night (Bare Bodkin, Tufts University), Richard III (Tufts University), The Unnatural Tragedy (British American Drama Academy), and The Legend of Jim Cullen (Heartwood Regional Theatre Company).

Hope you’ll take a listen and enjoy!

Also, if you would like tabs, feel free to message me to request them and I'll post them here: https://drive.google.com/?authuser=0#folders/0B8YEQFEX6ZybdGpmZ2pwTUVyczA

Adele McAllister

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