Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To seek our pale enchanted gold.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells,
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
For ancient king and elvish lord
There many a gleaming golden hoard
They shaped and wrought, and light they caught,
To hide in gems on hilt of sword.
On silver necklaces they strung
The flowering stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, on twisted wire
They meshed the light of moon and sun.
Far over the Misty Mountains cold,
To dungeons deep and caverns old,
We must away, ere break of day,
To claim our long-forgotten gold.
Goblets they carved there for themselves,
And harps of gold, where no man delves
There lay they long, and many a song
Was sung unheard by men or elves.
The pines were roaring on the heights,
The wind was moaning in the night,
The fire was red, it flaming spread,
The trees like torches blazed with light.
The bells were ringing in the dale,
And men looked up with faces pale.
The dragon's ire, more fierce than fire,
Laid low their towers and houses frail.
The mountain smoked beneath the moon.
The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.
They fled the hall to dying fall
Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.
Far over the Misty Mountains grim,
To dungeons deep and caverns dim,
We must away, ere break of day,
To win our harps and gold from him!
The wind was on the withered heath,
But in the forest stirred no leaf:
There shadows lay be night or 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 tassels bent,
The reeds were rattling—on it went.
O'er shaken pool under 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 sale upon the gale,
And stars were fanned to leaping light.
Under the Mountain dark and tall,
The King has come unto his hall!
His foe is dead, the Worm of Dread,
And ever so his foes shall fall!
The sword is sharp, the spear is long,
The arrow swift, the Gate is strong.
The heart is bold that looks on gold;
The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong.
The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,
While hammers fell like ringing bells
In places deep, where dark things sleep,
In hollow halls beneath the fells.
On silver necklaces they strung
The light of stars, on crowns they hung
The dragon-fire, from twisted wire
The melody of harps they wrung.
The mountain throne once more is freed!
O! Wandering folk, the summons heed!
Come haste! Come haste! Across the waste!
The king of friend and kin has need.
Now call we over the mountains cold,
'Come back unto the caverns old!'
Here at the gates the king awaits,
His hands are rich with gems and gold.
The king has come unto his hall
Under the Mountain dark and tall.
The Worm of Dread is slain and dead,
And ever so our foes shall fall!
Farewell we call to hearth and hall!
Though wind may blow and rain may fall,
We must away, ere break of day
Far over the wood and mountain tall.
To Rivendell, where Elves yet dwell
In glades beneath the misty fell.
Through moor and waste we ride in haste,
And whither then we cannot tell.
With foes ahead, behind us dread,
Beneath the sky shall be our bed,
Until at last our toil be passed,
Our journey done, our errand sped.
We must away! We must away!
We ride before the break of day!
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
1 - 7 of 7
-
wow its been too long
From guest Michael Rajchel (contact)
I often run the first stanza of this poem through my head, but its been a long time since I have read the whole thing. Thanks I remember now why I liked it so. -
melody
From guest The EJ (contact)
Did J.R.R Tolkien have a melody for this? I came up with one a while ago and I often sing it for my little brother and sister as a bedtime story. Not the entire thing though or it would be a bedtime saga. Anyway j.r.r. rocks! So does c s lewis. -
Melody
From guest The EJ (contact)
Did J.R.R.Tolkien come up with a melody for this? 'Cause the dwarves sing it in "The Hobbit".I came up with a melody for it and my little brother and sister get it for a bedtime story, though I've never sung them the entire thing. Anyway j r r rocks and so does c s lewis -
Great stuff
From guest RJ de Wit (contact)
Great stuff, shame it's so long and I can't recite this poem in full. 26 stanzas of four lines and two extra sentences...Wow... -
GO TOLKIEN!
From guest Gabriel (contact)
wow this is an amazing poem showing Tolkien was not only a writer of fantasies but a poet as well! GO TOLKIEN!!! -
First two lines transposition of old/cold
From guest Sam Crawford (contact)
It appears that "cold" and "old" were transposed in the first 2 lines. "...mountains OLD," "...canyons COLD" shouldn't it be? -
From guest The Dragon Master (contact)
It's great to see the full version of this poem. I was just looking for the version from the hobit for a project I'm working on (trying to get a collection of Dwarven poems/history/etc thrown together for my collection) but this will make a much better addition. -
YAY I LOVE TOLKIEN!
-
Tolkien's mythos is beautiful and expansive. This poem is a nice sampling.
-
exellent. exellent. exellent.
-
Holy crap I just got done reading that book today. And i've posted some of his poems to!! HAhA how weird !
-
j.r.r.tolkien is by far one of the worlds top ten bookwriters!
-
I love this one... probably my favorite... yay go Jr.R.R. Tolkien!! He's the guy. I'm changing my favorite author to him... or maybe not. Anyway this one freakin rocks, yaaaay!!
-
The Hobbit .... what a wonderfull book ... the dreadfull dragon struck down by a single arrow..
Adding your comment:
1 - 7 of 7
