Bilbo's Last Song

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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. Bilbo's Last Song was given by Tolkien as a gift to his secretary Joy Hill in 1966. 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. [ citation needed] The poem was also illustrated by Pauline Baynes, and published as a poster in 1974. In 1990, the text was finally published in book form, re-illustrated by Baynes. [1] Its original publisher was Houghton Mifflin, then Allen & Unwin in 1992, and then by Dragonfly Books in 1992. [2] and a few others like Riverwood Publishing Inc. [3]

Scholars have noted that Tolkien's road is a plain enough symbol for life and its possibilities, and that Middle-earth is a world of such roads, as both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings begin and end at the door of Bag End, Bilbo's home. They have observed, too, that if "the lighted inn" on the road means death, then the road is life, and both the song and the novels can be read as speaking of the process of psychological individuation. The walking song gives its name to Donald Swann's 1967 song-cycle The Road Goes Ever On, where it is the first in the list. All the versions of the song have been set to music by the Tolkien Ensemble. a b Rosebury, Brian (2016). Tolkien: a Critical Assessment. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p.25. ISBN 978-1-349-22133-2. OCLC 1083467593. Edmonds, Jeremy. "Collectors Guide – "Bilbo's Last Song" (US Poster)". Tolkien Collector's Guide . Retrieved 25 January 2020. The first edition of The Road Goes Ever On: a Song Cycle was published on 31 October 1967, in the United States. [6]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] While this is not a story or a sequel, it is nevertheless very Tolkienish. The rhythm, meter, and wording of this little poem is very recognizable as tolkien's work, for anyone who has read his books and the wonderful poetry that is sprinkled through them. And Pauline Baynes has augmented the poetry with a series of beautiful pictures. Quite detailed and pretty, they have a slightly unearthly tinge, like the starlight around the Elves. And this new edition has excellent paper and printing, very high quality.

In 1981, Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell used Bilbo's Last Song to conclude the dramatization of The Lord of the Rings that they wrote for BBC Radio 4. [19] [20] The poem was set to music by Stephen Oliver, who had provided all the music for the series. [19] [20] The first stanza was chanted by John Le Mesurier as Bilbo, the second was omitted and the third was sung by the boy soprano Matthew Vine. [21] An album of Oliver's music from the series included a version of the song in which Vine sang all three stanzas. [22] Oliver's version was recorded by the Dutch Tolkien Society band The Hobbitons for their 1996 CD J. R. R. Tolkien's Songs from Middle-earth. [T 2] Carpenter, Humphrey, ed. (1981). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 978-0-395-31555-2. 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. Tolkien’s most popular works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are set in Middle-earth, an imagined world with strangely familiar settings inhabited by ancient and extraordinary peoples. Through this secondary world Tolkien writes perceptively of universal human concerns – love and loss, courage and betrayal, humility and pride – giving his books a wide and enduring appeal.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. 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 ] Illustration of the road by Kay Nielsen for the 1914 fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon, whose title Tolkien uses in one of his walking songs for Aman, the desired other world. [1] a b c Jorgensen, Estelle R. (2006). "Myth, Song, and Music Education: The Case of Tolkien's the 'Lord of the Rings' and Swann's 'The Road Goes Ever On.' ". Journal of Aesthetic Education. University of Illinois Press. 40 (3): 1–21. JSTOR 4140177.

Letter to Joy Hill (28 October 1971) – Tolkien Gateway". tolkiengateway.net. 12 May 2017 . Retrieved 25 January 2020. Fimi, Dimitra (2007). "Tolkien's "'Celtic' type of legends": Merging Traditions". Tolkien Studies. 4: 51–71. doi: 10.1353/tks.2007.0015. S2CID 170176739. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien: writer, artist, scholar, linguist. Known to millions around the world as the author of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien spent most of his life teaching at the University of Oxford where he was a distinguished academic in the fields of Old and Middle English and Old Norse. His creativity, confined to his spare time, found its outlet in fantasy works, stories for children, poetry, illustration and invented languages and alphabets. The poem first appeared as posters (60×40 cm) in November 1974, illustrated by Pauline Baynes, published by Allen & Unwin. In 1996 the song was recorded by the Dutch Tolkien Society band The Hobbitons, with permission from the Tolkien Estate, for their CD J.R.R. Tolkien's Songs from Middle-earth. [2]He died (42) of AIDS-related complications in London.[2] In 2006, Oliver's archive of original scores and papers was presented to the British Library by his family. The song was included in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation of The Lord of the Rings (1981), with music by Stephen Oliver. The first verse is chanted by John Le Mesurier as Bilbo, the second omitted, and the third sung by a boy soprano. 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]