To the Curator, Mathom House, Michel Delving

Sir:

Whilst Spring Cleaning I have come across this dusty manuscript, evidently compiled by several generations of Tooks. Indeed, on several of the older leafs I have clearly distinguished the scrawl of Thain Peregrin I; his handwriting, as you know, is distinctive in its illegibility. However, his son Thain Faramir evidently took a hand in deciphering his father's work, for his script is evident on each of these pages, clarifying where needed.

There is another hand in evidence, perhaps that of the grandfather of the current Thain, though I have not yet finished my analysis and can offer only an educated guess at its owner.

In any event, I thought you might find this of interest.

I remain your humble servant,

L.

Courting Song

This is a traditional "teasing song" sung in the Shire, usually by younger brothers of a hobbit who is "walking out" with a lass.

O where are you going this fine day?
Singing hey, my laddie, laddie ho!
That's for me to know and none to say,
Singing ho, my laddie hey!

Took a look at him, and I am betting
That come next Spring there will be a wedding,
Come and pluck the goose for the feather bedding,
Singing hey, my laddie ho!

Click to hear the music to this song.

[Please note that this music is protected by copyright law.]

3. The Courtship of Samwise Gamgee

This rollicking tune, written in pencil on a tablecloth stained with wine and other foodstuffs, was reputed to be composed and sung at Samwise and Rosie's wedding by Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took. (The fact that it was raining drink as well as snowing food might account for certain historical inaccuracies in the lyrics.) This treasure, found in the Mathom House in Michel Delving under a pile of papers, was nearly lost during Spring Cleaning, but for the alertness of one of the staff.

The Courtship of Samwise Gamgee

Words by Meriadoc Brandybuck
Tune by Peregrin Took

Come now all ye young lasses and lads, and lads,
Ye must listen to yer mums and yer dads, yer dads
If ye want to be wise, just open yer eyes
And I'll tell ye of Samwise Gamgee, Gamgee,
Of the courtship of Samwise Gamgee.

Well, Samwise was gone wi' his master, his master,
And he couldn't get back any faster, any faster,
He got back so late, but his Rosie did wait,
And she was so glad him to see, to see,
She was glad to see Samwise Gamgee

When young Samwise came back from the War, the War,
We all knew he loved Rosie full sore, full sore,
Though she waited a week,
He had yet to speak
And she worried he'd wait ever more.
She worried he'd wait ever more.

He'd crossed over rivers and peaks, and peaks,
But to Rosie he just couldn't speak, oh, no!
He could not meet her eye,
The poor lad was so shy,
So poor Rosie did wait and did wait, poor lass!
For her Samwise to find nerve to ask.

Mayor Frodo he had an idee, idee,
He said, 'Rosie, lass, listen to me, to me!'
With a wink of his eye, he said, 'Cook us some pie!'
'And we'll give your poor Samwise a tweak, a tweak,
'Yes we'll help him find courage to speak.'

Mayor Frodo and Peregrin Took, young Took
And handsome young Merry Brandybuck, yes, him too!
All sat down to eat, pie of mushrooms and meat,
And poor Samwise was eating that pie, that pie,
But he couldn't look Rose in the eye.

Then Merry he took him a bite, a bite
And his face was all spread with delight, delight
And he sang to the sky, with a gleam in his eye,
'Tis the finest pie ever could be, could be,
'Come, dear Rosie lass, marry me!'

Captain Merry, he turned then to Sam, to Sam
And he said, 'I'll advise ye, my lamb, my lamb!
'Better speak to her soon, beneath the full moon,
'Or soon she'll be married to me, to me,
'Better take warning, Samwise Gamgee!'

By the light of the harvest-time moon, the moon,
Ye can hear the band playing a tune, a tune,
They are making quite fine, with good food and good wine,
At the wedding of Rosie and Sam, poor Sam,
Rosie got him to speak, the poor lamb!

Come now all ye young lasses and lads, and lads,
Ye must listen to yer mums and yer dads, yer dads
If ye want to be wise, just open yer eyes
And I'll tell ye of Samwise Gamgee, Gamgee,
Of the courtship of Samwise Gamgee.

For the tune, click here: Music

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

Dance of the Seasons

This is a traditional tune of Buckland.

The water runs free, laddie, laddie,
Comes now Mistress Spring,
Lifting up her pretty flowered skirts
To dance in the stream.
Laddie, come sing now, come sing.

The water runs low, laddie, laddie,
Comes now Mistress Summer
With her skirts sky blue and grassy green,
To wander so slow.
Laddie, come sing now, come sing.

The water runs chill, laddie, laddie,
Comes now Mistress Autumn
Turning leaves to gold and scarlet flame,
As she wends her sweet will.
Laddie, come sing now, come sing.

The water stands still, laddie, sparkling
Jewels for Mistress Winter
With her bright skirts of snowy white,
Sweeping over the hill.
Laddie, come sing now, come sing.

For the tune, please click here: Music

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

Lamp in the Window

Said to have been written by Mayor Samwise Gamgee for the wedding of Meriadoc the Magnificent, this tune has been a favourite at hobbit gatherings for many years.

A lamp in the window, burning through the darkness,
Calling the traveller home.
Although he can't see it, walking in the darkness,
He knows that it waits for him there.

The wind may be blowing, snow may be falling,
Mighty mountains rise before him, rushing rivers behind,
There's a lamp in the window, shining in the darkness,
Calling the traveller home.

His journey may lead him to lands drenched in darkness,
Where Sun, Moon or stars are not found.
He knows that behind him, shining in the darkness,
The lamp in the window still burns.

The dark foes are waiting, seeking his blood,
Their fell voices calling, with no hope ahead,
There's a lamp in the window, shining in the darkness,
Calling the traveller home.

The battle behind him, he turns his face homeward,
Seeking the light of the dawn.
Although he can't see it, walking in the darkness,
The lamp shines to beckon him on.

The wind may be blowing, rain may be falling,
Mighty mountains rise behind him, rushing rivers ahead,
There's a lamp in the window, shining in the darkness,
Calling the traveller home.

For the tune, please click here: Music

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

The Springle-Ring Song

This is one of several traditional tunes. The reader might recall that the Springle-ring was danced at Bilbo's famous birthday party.

For the tune, please click here: The Springle-Ring

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

Coney Pie

This is a traditional hunting song of Tookland.

I hunt all day midst the curing hay,
Just to catch a brace of coney dinner,
For a coney pie brings a gleam to eye,
Such a pie is sure to be a winner!

Chorus:

And I'll sing you a Hey!
If you make it this way:
With a crust as flaky as can be!
Hey, ho! Bake it up this day,
And I'll ask you--hey!,
Pretty lassie, will you marry me?

Additional verses:

I'll sit all morn 'midst the ripening corn,
Just to catch a brace of coney dinner,
For a coney pie brings a gleam to eye,
Such a pie is sure to be a winner! (Chorus)

I'll bravely go through the blowing snow,
Just to catch a brace of coney dinner,
For a coney pie brings a gleam to eye,
Such a pie is sure to be a winner! (Chorus)

I'll lie and watch in the garden patch
Just to catch a brace of coney dinner,
For a coney pie brings a gleam to eye,
Such a pie is sure to be a winner! (Chorus)

For music, click here: Coney Pie

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

This is one of a group of songs sung Shire-wide in pleasant weather, Spring through Autumn. (See "Fireside Songs" for those more suited to inclement weather.) Note the play on words, commonly found in hobbit lyrics. As you might recall, hobbits also enjoy singing two melodies against one another. Thus their music reflects so well the lightness of their hearts.

We're going on a picnic, a picnic, a picnic.
We're going on a picnic, to savour this beautiful day.

What shall we bring a-carrying, carrying, carrying?
What shall we bring a-carrying, on this lovely day?

O let us bring some (insert item), some (insert item), some (insert item)
O let us bring some (insert item), to savour this beautiful day!

For the tune, please click here: Picnic Song

If the link does not work, cut and paste the following into your browser:

http://www.classicalfree.org/music/picnic.mid

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

Marching Song

This is a marching song of Gondor, brought back from the South by Meriadoc the Magnificent and Thain Peregrin I.

O the life of a soldier's the life for me,
Marching along with the infantry,
Winking at each pretty girl I see,
Tis a soldier's life for me!

O the life of a soldier's the life for me,
Riding along with the cavalry,
Leaving the dust for the infantry,
Tis a soldier's life for me!

Chorus:
A soldier's life, a soldier's life, don't need a hearth or a home or a wife!
Just give me a sword and a company,
'Tis a soldier's life for me.

For the tune, click here: The Life of a Soldier

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

The Ballad of Elendil and Isildur

A lullaby of Gondor, sung over the centuries, and brought to the Shire by Thain Peregrin I after his travels in the South. While not a song that hobbits would sing, it must be remembered that training those who lived in Gondor, besieged by the Dark Lord for centuries, started as early as the singing of cradle songs. [If it seems a bit repetitious, just remember that the purpose of a lullaby is to put little ones to sleep, and think upon a typical Shire lullaby, such as the Leaf Song, or the Night Wind Song, equally repetitious, though dealing with pleasant and practical matters.]

1. Gil-galad and Elendil
Marched their armies up the hill
To meet the Dark Lord face to face,
And cast him down from his high place.

The thunder boomed and the lightning flashed
As on the battlefield the armies clashed.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

2. The thunder boomed and the lightning flashed
As on the battlefield the armies clashed.
As Elendil raised his sword on high,
The soldiers drew their swords and gave the cry.

Through the air elven arrows flew,
Orc and troll and man they slew.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

3. Through the air elven arrows flew,
Orc and troll and man they slew.
The archers aimed their arrows high
And sent them bolting through the sky.

The Dark Lord raised his hand in spell;
On the battlefield the Elf Lord fell.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

4. The Dark Lord raised his hand in spell;
On the battlefield the Elf Lord fell.
The Dark Lord strode to Elendil,
Spilling his blood upon the hill.

The sky grew dark with increasing gloom,
As the soldiers rallied to meet their doom.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

5. The sky grew dark with increasing gloom,
As the soldiers rallied to meet their doom.
Isildur took his father's sword.
He did battle with the dreadful Lord,

With the fighting raging all around
And his father dying upon the ground.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

6. With the fighting raging all around
And his father dying upon the ground,
His soldiers rallied and did their best
While round about them the dark host pressed.

Isildur raised his father's sword,
Shouting defiance at the grim Dark Lord.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

7. Isildur raised his father's sword,
Shouting defiance at the grim Dark Lord.
In the face of death he raised his hand,
And banished the Darkness from the Western lands.

If men in peace would seek to live,
They must stand ever ready their lives to give.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

If men in peace would seek to live,
They must stand ever ready their lives to give.
If men would let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

For the tune, click here: Music

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]

On Your Way Home

This song was reputedly made up by hobbits on their way home to Bridgefields from the Lockholes, after their incarceration by Sharkey's ruffians. As is common in folk-songs, they took a familiar tune and changed it around to fit their new words. It is said that they sang this to cheer the leader of their band of rebels, Fredegar "Fatty" Bolger, during his long and difficult recovery.

The road is long and the way is steep,
Away, my laddie, on your way home!
I’ve miles to go before I may sleep,
Away, my laddie, home!

But the lamp in the window is shining for me,
The kettle is singing; she’ll be brewing our tea,
And out of the window she’ll be glancing to see,
Away, her laddie, on his way home!

For the music, please click "Here" or cut and paste the following into your browser:

http://www.classicalfree.org/music/home.mid

Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.
6/26/04

A/N The lyrics need work; sorry. Have been wrestling with this song the better part of a month. The tune came easily, but the words are not so obliging.

Don't Go...

This is an old tune amongst Shire-folk, found in all the Farthings and as far away as Bree. Several versions are in existence, each telling of a tragedy.

In one version, the mother and wife of a hobbit tell him "Don't go wandering no more," and he promises to stay at home after a last journey... from which he never returns. In another, they tell him not to go sailing, but he ends up "going to Sea" -- never to be seen again. And whenever a pony race is run anywhere in the Shire, you'll hear the version copied here.

(Wife) With the race on the morrow, I blinked back a tear
Clinging tight to his hand, I said, "Promise me, dear,
You'll go racing no more!"
(Mother echoes) Don't go racing no more!
(Wife) 'Tis my greatest wish and my fondest desire,
That you'll stay safe and warm with me, here by the fire.

(Brother) Your pony is clever, your pony is fast.
And if you go racing, you'll hardly come last.
But go racing no more!
(Wife echoes) Don't go racing no more!
(Brother) For if he should stumble, O if he should fall,
You'll go down 'neath the hoofs of the followers all.

(Hobbit) My pony is clever, my pony is fast.
But I'll promise you now that this race is my last.
I'll go racing no more!
(Mother echoes) You'll go racing no more!
(Hobbit) With a babe on the way, 'tis my fondest desire
To win one last race, then stay home by the fire.

(At the same time, wife sings)
Love, promise me, you'll go no more
Racing a-gallop to finish before
Stay, go no longer to the race
Stay at home today
Here by the fire, I ask thee to stay with me,
Close by my side I ask thee forever to stay.

(Wife) The flowers are sweet where my dear one doth lie,
And I visit each evening to weep and to sigh,
He'll go racing no more.
(no echo)
The pony did stumble, the pony went down,
Leaving my dearest love to lie under the ground.

For the music, please click "Here". Be patient, it may take the midi file a moment or two to load.

Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.

While scholars argue that this song is more dwarvish than hobbity, it must be admitted that the hobbits of Tookland are less "hobbity" than others, what with their adventurous spirits. This Tookish lullaby reflects their restless nature. It is an uneasy song, more suited to sleeping under the stars than sitting by the hearth, and the singer must fit the words round the tune, much as the rustling of the wind in the wood, as it finds its way round the limbs and through the leaves, so to speak.

The wind walks wild o’er the darkling world;
‘Tis time to seek my resting place.
The trees their banners of leaves unfurled
Are waving their farewells.

Tuck me up ‘neath the wide-spreading tree;
Spread a blanket of wildflowers to keep.
Clouds and skies to fill up my eyes,
As the wind sings me to my sleep.

I’ve wandered far from my familiar home
My hidey-hole where my true love waits.
Forgetting the reasons I e’er sought to roam,
No more will my straying feet lead me away.

Tuck me up ‘neath the wide-spreading tree;
Spread a blanket of wildflowers to keep.
Clouds and skies to fill up my eyes,
As the wind sings me to my sleep.

For the music, please click Here

(As appeared in All That Glisters, Chapter 32, "Sweet Draughts and Savoury Biscuits")

Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.

Throw Another Log on the Fire

The celebrations and festivities of the Yuletide are over, and yet winter stretches before us with its long nights and blustery days. But the snowdrops are preparing to poke their shoots over their coverlet, and the world is turning towards the springtime, longer days, and quickening of new life. And there are comforts and benefits, even to this season of anticipation.

For music (midi) please click here.

The wind's song is rising high
As the clouds grow thick and cover the sky.
Another storm is drawing nigh;
Throw another log on the fire!
 
Grandad tells a shivery tale
As the shutters bang in the teeth of the gale
We're safe and warm where no storm can prevail;
Throw another log on the fire!
 
Now all the family gathers round
As we blend our voices in joyful sound
More blessed folk were ne'er to be found;
Throw another log on the fire!

For music (midi) please click here.

(Please remember that this music is protected by copyright. Thanks!)