Lyrics for the LOTR Soundtracks

The Fellowship of the Ring:
The Prophecy
The Hobbit Drinking Song
O Queen Beyond the Western Seas
The Black Rider
Lay of Luthien
Aniron
The Bridge of Khazad-Dum ,with commentary
Lament for Gandalf
A Elbereth Gilthoniel
May it Be
In Dreams

The Two Towers:
Foundations of Stone
The Fallen
Eowyn's Lament
Evenstar / The Missing
Breath of Life
Haldir's Lament
Entmoot
Isengard Unleashed
Gollum's Song

The Return of the King:
Hobbit Drinking Song: Edoras Table version
Retreat from Osgiliath
The Last Son
Andúril
The Dimholt Road
The Way is Shut
The Steward of Gondor
The Argument
Not Once, Not Ever
Don't Let Go
The Mountain of Fire
The Destruction of the Ring
The Eagles
Aragorn's Coronation
Into the West
Use Well the Days
The Houses of Healing

Thanks especially to:
The Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
Tolkien's Languages in the LOTR Soundtrack
Soundtracks Lyrics Source
and Danijel Legin, for permission to use the Khazad-Dum lyrics reconstruction.
Excerpt from David Salo regarding the Khazad-Dum lyrics is from this Q&A session with Unofficial Muse - many thanks!


The Fellowship of the Ring


The Prophecy

The Seer Speaks...

Yénillor morne
tulinte I quettar
tercáno nuruva

Hlasta! Qyetes
Hfirimain:

The Ringspell...

(English translation)

The Seer Speaks...

Out of the Black Years
come the words
the Hearld of Death

Listen --- it speaks to
those who were not born to die

The Ringspell...

Music by Howard Shore, lyrics by Phillipa Boyens
Translation by David Salo

The Hobbit Drinking Song

Hey, ho, to the bottle I go,
To heal my heart and drown my woe!
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
But there still be many miles to go!

Sweet is the sound of the pouring rain,
And stream that falls from hill to plain!
Better than rain or rippling brook,
Is a mug of beer inside this Took!

Tolkien's text that it was based off of:

Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe,
Rain may fall and wind may blow,
And many miles be still to go,
But under a tall tree I will lie,
And let the clouds go sailing by.

O Queen Beyond the Western Seas

Sindarin:

A Bereth thar Ennui Aeair!
A Galad ven i reniar
hí 'aladhremmin ennorath.
A Elbereth Gilthoniel
i chin a thûl lîn i gelair...

 
Translation:

'O Queen beyond the Western Seas!

O light to us that wander 

here amid the world of woven-trees.
O Gilthoniel! O Elbereth!
the eyes and breath your which are brilliant...'


Taken from the poem "Snow-white, snow-white..." in the 3rd chapter of FOTR.
Sung by the departing Elves seen by Frodo and Sam in the Shire.



The Black Rider


Chorus in Adûnaic:

 

Nêbâbîtham Magânanê
Nêtabdam dâurad
Nêpâm nêd abârat-aglar
îdô Nidir nênâkham
Bârî 'n Katharâd

 
English translation:

'We deny our maker. 

We cling to the darkness. 

We grasp for ourselves power and glory. 

Now we come, the Nine,

Lords of Eternal Life.'

Featured in The Black Rider, At the Sign of the Prancing Pony, A Knife in the Dark.
Lyrics by Philippa Boyens, translated into Adûnaic by David Salo.



Lay of Luthien (Song to Tinuviel)


Sindarin:

Tinúviel elvanui 

Elleth alfirin edhelhael 

O hon ring finnil fuinui 

A renc gelebrin thiliol...

 
Translation:
 

'Tinúviel the elven-fair,

Immortal maiden elven-wise, 

About him cast her night-dark hair,

And arms like silver glimmering...'

 

Lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien, performed by Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), translated into Sindarin by David Salo



Aníron

O môr henion i dhû:
Ely siriar, êl síla
Ai! Aníron Undómiel

Tiro! Êl eria e môr.
I 'lîr en êl luitha 'uren
Ai! Aníron...

From darkness I understand the night:
dreams flow, a star shines
Ah! I desire Evenstar

Look! A star rises out of the darkness
The song of the star enchants my heart
Ah! I desire...

Composed and performed by Enya
 Lyrics by Roma Ryan


The Bridge of Khazad-Dum


1:06 – 1:25
URKHAS TANAKHI! LU! LU!
TANI TARAHI LU! LU!
 
(sounds like TANI TARAHI, but there is no such text in the published poem)
 
UGRÛD TASHNIKI KURDUMÂ LU! LU!
 
1:30 – 1:39
URUS NI URUS NI
URUS NI BUZRA
LU!_______
 
1:46 – 1:56
Ah_______
URUS URUS NI
URUS BUZRA
LU! LU! LU! LU!
URKHAS URUS NI BUZRA
 
1:56 – 2:07
LU! LU! LU! LU!
URKHAS TALBABI
TALBABI URKHAS
URUS NI BUZRA
URKHAS TALBABI
LU! LU! LU! LU!
URUS NI URUS NI
URUS NI BUZRA
 
2:07 - 2:37
(very unclear, working on that part momentarily)
 
2:37 – 2:51
URUS URUS NI, ASKAKARE BUZRA
 
(This is one of very problematic places because it sounds like ASKAKARE, and also, in the movie, in this scene music is very loud, especially men's choir, so you can hear lyrics better, and there is very clear that they pronounce ASKAKARE. On the soundtrack it could also be URKHAS ARRÂS because it is very unclear, but I don't think thats what they are singing.)
 
URUS URUS NI, ASKAKARE BUZRA
URUS URUS NI, TANI TARAHI
TANI TARAHI, ASKAKARE BUZRA
URUS BUZRA, URUS BUZRA
 
2:55 – 3:36
URKHAS TANAKHI, URUS NI BUZRA
ARRÂS TALBABI FILLUMÂ, FILLUMÂ
UGRÛD TASHNIKI, KURDUMÂ, KURDUMÂ
URUS URKHAS
URKHAS TANAKHI, URKHAS TANAKHI
ARRÂS TALBABI ~ÂS TANAKHI
 (not quite sure about this)
URUS URKHAS TANAKHI
URKHAS TANAKHI, URKHAS TANAKHI
URUS NI BUZRA
URKHAS LU!
 
3:54 – 4:03
URUS NI BUZRA, URKHAS TALBABI
GURD! GURD! GURD! GURD!
 
(I'm little puzzled about this, because GURD! [Have fear!] is part of The Abyss poem, but it is possible that The Abyss was written earlier, before Howard was composing for Two Towers,or it could be part of the second poem in Khuzdul used in A Journey in the Dark.)
 
ASKAKARE URKHAS TALBABI
ASKAKARE URKHAS, ASKAKARE URKHAS
 

Many thanks to Danijel Legin, who put together this hypothetical reconstruction.
We can't know are the words correct. Translation is, of course, unknown because this is neo-Khuzdul
( David Salo's reconstruction of Khuzdul language)and until exact lyrics are published translation will remain unknown.

Update 12/03 Additional commentary by David Salo:
The language you heard is what I sometimes call "Neo-Khuzdul" or New Dwarvish. It's based on or inspired by the few Dwarvish words and names which Tolkien created and which have been published; but since Tolkien did not provide us anything regarding the grammar of Dwarvish (except a vague hint that it might be like Hebrew), and only gave us a very small vocabulary, something like 90% of this language is a new invention--by me. It sounds like Khuzdul, but I am sure that in structure and vocabulary it is much more different from what Tolkien would have created than any of the Elvish.

Part of what you hear goes like this:

Fire in the deep!         Urus ni buzra!
Flames lick our skin!  Arrâs talbabi fillumâ!
Fear rips our heart!    Ugrûd tashniki kurdumâ!
No! No! No!             Lu! Lu! Lu!
The demon comes!    Urkhas tanakhi!


Some of the things you can see here are the construction of verbs with the prefix ta- (for third person): talbabi "lick", tashniki "rips", tanakhi "comes"; the suffix -mâ for "our": fillumâ "our skin", kurdumâ "our heart". We have some related words, like urus "fire", arrâs "flame"; and some words that should look familiar, e.g. buzra "deep" (cf. bizar "valley, deep place" in Azanul-bizar), and urkhas "demon, balrog", related to rukhs "orc" much as Quenya rauco "demon" is related to urco "orc". So there is real linguistic structure there, and an homage to Tolkien's languages; but very little of it is genuine Tolkien.  - David Salo



Lament for Gandalf


(Verse 1: Quenya)

A Olórin i yáresse
Mentaner i Númeherui
Tírien i Rómenóri
Maiaron i Oiosaila
Manan elye etevanne
Nórie i melanelye?

(Verses 2 & 3: Sindarin)

Mithrandir, Mithrandir, A Randir Vithren
ú-reniathach i amar galen
I reniad lín ne mór, nuithannen
In gwidh ristennin, i fae narchannen
I lach Anor ed ardhon gwannen
Caled veleg, ethuiannen.

(English translation)

Olorin, who once was...
Sent by the Lords of the West
To guard the lands of the East
Wisest of all Maiar
What drove you to leave
That which you loved?

Mithrandir, Mithrandir O Pilgrim Grey
No more will you wander the green fields of this earth
Your journey has ended in darkness.
The bonds are cut, the spirit broken
The Flame of Anor has left this World
A great light, has gone out.

Words and music by Philippa Boyens and Howard Shore
 Performed by Elizabeth Fraser

A Elbereth Gilthoniel (featured in Lothlórien.) 

Chorus in Sindarin

 

A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
silivren penna miriel
o menel aglar elenath,
na-chaered palan diriel
o galadhremmin ennorath
nef aear, sí aearon,
Fanluilos, le linnathon
Nef aear, sí aearon!

 

Translation of the Sindarin text:

 

'O Elbereth Star-kindler,

(white) glittering slants-down sparkling-like-jewels

from firmament glory [of] the star-host,

to-remote-distance after-having-gazed

from tree-tangled middle-lands,

on-this-side [of] ocean, here [on this side of] the Great Ocean,

Fanuilos, to thee I will chant

on-this-side [of] ocean, here [on this side of] the Great Ocean!'

 
Lyrics by J.R.R. Tolkien, music by Howard Shore, performed by Elizabeth Fraser.


Namárie   (featured in The Great River)

 

Chorus in Quenya

1. 

Ai! laurie lantar lassi súrinen,

yéni únotime ve ramar aldaron!

yéni ve linte...

 
Translation:

Alas! golden leaves fall in the wind,

long years numberless as [the] wings of trees!

Long years like swift...

 

2.

Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. 

Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta!

 
Translation:

Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. 

In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world

Verse 1 is a fragment of the Galadriel's Lament (FOTR text), verse 2 are Elendil's words when he came to Middle-earth after the Downfall of Númenor, repeated by Aragorn at his coronation (ROTK text).  Verse 1 is sung during the Fellowship's departure from Lórien, verse 2 during the passing of Argonath.

May It Be

May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true
You walk a lonely road
Oh! How far you are from home

Mornie utúlië (darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantië (darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

May it be shadows call
Will fly away
May it be your journey on
To light the day
When the night is overcome
You may rise to find the sun

Mornie utúlië (darkness has come)
Believe and you will find your way
Mornie alantië (darkness has fallen)
A promise lives within you now

A promise lives within you now

Composed and performed by Enya
Lyrics by Roma Ryan

In Dreams

When the cold of Winter comes
Starless night will cover day
In the veiling of the sun
We will walk in bitter rain

But in dreams
I still hear your name
And in dreams
We will meet again

When the seas and mountains fall
And we come, to end of days
In the dark I hear a call
Calling me there
I will go there
And back again

Words and music by Fran Walsh and Howard Shore,
Based on the song for the Entwives by Tolkien.
Performed by Edward Ross


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