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Poems and Songs of Middle Earth
The Road Goes ever on
Words by J.R.R Tolkien
Music by Donald Swann
Directed by Howard Sackler
(Caedmon Records 1967, TC 1231)Liner information: Years before the general reading public had heard his name, Professor J. R. R. Tolkien was well known to his colleagues in the field of Anglo-Saxon and Middle-English studies as a formidable scholar, and to Oxford undergraduates as an inspiring teacher. As a lecturer, he showed that it is possible (though, alas, not very common) to examine the philological details of a text without forgetting its poetic value. Nobody could have written The HOBBIT and The Lord of the Rings who was not both a philologist and a poet. For example, only a philologist, and an exceptional one at that, could have invented an 'imaginary' language for the Elves which has all the properties of a 'real' one. Only a scholar could have drawn upon so many sources for the ingredients of his 'brew', from Icelandic, Anglo-Saxon and Welsh myths down to, I suspect, Rider Haggard, though, as every gourmet knows, it is not the ingredients of a dish that matter, but what the chef does with them. And only an exceptional poetic imagination could have created a Secondary World, so complex, on so grand a scale, yet so completely credible in every detail. Among his many gifts, the three which astound me most are his gift for inventing Proper Names, his gift for describing landscape. and (how I envy him this) his gift for calligraphy. Some of the poems on this record are to be found in The Lord of the Rings, others in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. Of the Hobbits' taste in verse, Professor Tolkien writes:
SIDE One J. R. R. TOLKIEN reads from THE ADVENTURES OF TOM BOMBADIL 1. The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (4:00) 2. The Mewlips (1:21) 3. The Hoard (3:25) 4. Perry-The-Winkle (4:26) 5. The Man in the Moon Came Down 'Too Soon (5:16) 6. The Sea-Bell (5:25) SIDE TWO 1. A Elbereth Gilthoniel (read in Elvish) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring,
Book 2, Chapter 1 - Many Meetings)THE ROAD GOES EVER ON, Sung by William Elvin, Donald Swann, Piano 2. The Road Goes Ever On (1:00) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring,
Book 1, Chapter 1 - A Long Expected Party)3. Upon the Hearth the Fire is Red (1:35) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring,
Book 1, Chapter 3 - Three is Company)4. In the Willow-Meads of Tasarinan (2:35) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 2, The Two Towers,
Book 3, Chapter 4 - Treebeard)5. In Western Lands (2:15) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 3, The Return of the King,
Book 4, Chapter 1 - The Tower of Cirith Ungol)6. Namárië (sung in Elvish) (1:25) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring,
Book 2, Chapter 8 - Farewel to Lórien)7. I Sit Beside the Fire (3:38) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring,
Book 2, Chapter 3 - The Ring Goes South)Refrain: A Elbereth Gilthoniel (sung in Elvish) (From The Lord of the Rings Vol. 1, The Fellowship of the Ring,
Book 2, Chapter 1 - Many Meetings)8. Errantry (3:43) (From The Adentures of Tom Bombadil) They are fond of strange words, and of rhyming and metrical tricks.. . . They are also, at least on the surface. light-hearted and frivolous, though sometimes one may uneasily suspect that more is meant than meets the eye.It is evident that their creator shares their taste. His metres are as exciting as they are various and. though most of his poems belong to the category of 'Light Verse', there are a number, notably The Sea- Bell - in my opinion his finest _ which are anything but 'light-hearted'. It should be remembered, also, that Hobbit poetry is not the only kind which he en- joys. On this record you will have the pleasure of hearing him recite a poem in Elvish. I wish there had been grooves enough to permit the inclusion of something by a Rohan poet. I presume that most people who buy this record will already have read Professor Tolkien's tetralogy, and I hope it will persuade anybody who has not, to do so at once. A prospective reader, however, should, I think, be warned: "this is a work that will either totally enthrall you or leave you stone cold, and, whichever your response, nothing and nobody will ever change it." As a member of the enchanted party, I have found by experience that it is quite useless to argue with the unconverted. W. H. AUDEN JOHN RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN was born in Africa in 1892 and shortly thereafter moved to England. After graduating from Exeter College, Oxford, he became professor of Anglo-Saxon there and later shifted to Merton College, from which he retired. Famed as a philologist and as a lecturer he gained world wide recognition for his The Hobbit and the trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. These books have received such critical acclaim that by now the name of Tolkien is an immediate assurance of a best-selling book. Besides the aforementioned, Professor Tolkien is the author of Farmer Giles of Ham, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Tree and Leaf and Smith of Wootton Major. He is also working on The Silmarillion, a work which precedes in time The Lord of the Rings.WILLIAM ELVIN, (the winner of the 1967 Kathleen Ferrier Memorial Scholarship), is currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music, and has been giving concerts in London where a recent performance in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix gained him great critical acclaim. Donald Swann's songs embellished with Elvish lettering by Professor Tolkien are availa'ble in THE ROAD GOES EYER ON, a book of music published by Houghton Mifflin Company and available at book stores, priced at $3.95. The English edition is published by George Allen & Unwin Ltd. The Adventues of Tom Bombadil and The Lord of the Rings are published by George Allen and Unwin Ltd. in England, and by Houghton Mifflin Company and Ballantine Books, Inc. in the United States. CREDITS ILLUSTRATION: Pauline Baynes
DONALD SWANN began his career by studying Modern Greek and Russian at Oxford. While in college he began writing songs for revues, one of which became a hit in London. From that point Swann's name has been automatically linked with Michael Flanders in the writing of numerous shows culminating in their now famous At The Drop of a Hat and more recently At the Drop of Another Hat. Mr. Swann has become interested in setting carols and hymns of the Church of England to his music, and many of these have been performed on the B.B.C. and elsewhere. His passion for the works of J. R. R. Tolkien dates from a trip to Australia where The Lord of the Rings formed his principal reading. He returned to England with the intention of setting some of the poetry from these books to song. He worked extensively with Tolkien who thoroughly approved of his settings except the one for Nam´rië. In this case the author hummed a tune to the composer who promptly accepted it.
DESIGN: Bryan Wittman
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS #: R67-3894
© in the words: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London, England.
© in the music: Donald Swann
© Caedmon Records, Inc., 1967
MUSIC CLEARENCE ONLY: The Song Cycle, The Road goes ever on may be licensed through ASCAP in the United States and the Performing Rights Society elseware.
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Revision: 13 May 2005
Last modified: 13 May 2005