Queer Dwarrow

Blida (Bíld Bóurrul) on LotRO Laurelin server

[i-am-no-dam]

Longbeard Songbeard -- err Songbook

So one of my amusements is making .abc files to play in the Lord of the Rings Online. I'm not particularly good at it, and I know nothing about music, but it just makes me happy to whip out a harp in-game and start playing.

Over the past couple of years I've built up a collection of over 80 .abc files. You can find them all on this Tumblr, along with previews recorded in-game so that you can judge if you'd like to download or not. There's a mix of Tolkien adaptation music, Sephardic folk songs, meme music, and more. My early stuff's not great and the later stuff is better, but you can browse all of it by checking out the tag. You can also skip the previews and look at the whole Google Drive folder here.

I also tag songs based on various attributes, like mood, if you're looking for something in particular. A full list of tags is under the cut.

Everything:

.abc files

Instruments:

.abc lute

.abc harp

.abc fiddle

Band size:

.abc solo (almost everything I make is for solo player)

.abc multipart

Songs to /dance to:

.abc dancing

Origin:

.abc LotR and the Hobbit (songs from Tolkien adaptations etc.)

.abc sephardic

.abc game music

.abc modern pop

.abc renaissance

.abc ashkenazic

Mood:

.abc happy

.abc hopeful

.abc wistful

.abc melancholy

.abc sad

.abc silly songs

Topic or Genre:

.abc ballads

.abc lullabies

.abc wedding

.abc love songs

.abc grief songs

.abc spooky

Other attributes:

.abc triple meter

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement for The Lord of the Rings Online of "Ochos Kandelikas/Eight Little Candles" by Flory Jagoda, a tango-ish Hanukkah song first published 1983. You can download my Jagoda-OchoKandelikas-Solo-v1.abc from Google Drive!

Normally I stay away from songs on overtly religious subjects, but people were playing Christmas music in early November... Winterhome isn't even open yet... So I might've snapped and made this.

This is a very close transcription of this version. Preview recorded in-game on Lute of Ages; I think it will play best on the lutes.

You can look up the lyrics on sites like LyricsTranslate!

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement of “Morena Me Llaman/Dark Beauty They Call Me”, specifically the Al-Andaluz Project’s version, for the Lord of the Rings Online. You can download my AlAndaluz-Morena-Solo-v2.abc from Google Drive!

I love this song and made an .abc of it a while ago, but I wasn’t really happy with it. I also got a request for a long, dance-able song in RP, so I took another stab. It’s not perfect but I think this one captures the energy much better! Because it’s so dense with notes, it suffers in lag. The demo is recorded in-game on Lute of Ages, but any plucked string will work, though you’ll hear the Evil B5 if you play it on Basic Harp.

You can find the original lyrics on sites like LyricsTranslate. My latest version for Dwarves to sing in English that doesn’t rhyme but kinda scans is under the cut:

Dark beauty they call me, though I say that I was born fair. Dark beauty they call me, though I say that I was born fair. From walking without, in the sun, gallant, I have lost my color. From walking without, in the sun, gallant, I have lost my color.

Dark beauty he calls me, ah, the handsome son of the king. Dark beauty he calls me, ah, the handsome son of the king. Should he call me dark beauty again, I may then go with him. Should he call me dark beauty again, I may then go with him.

Dark beauty they call me, all the young caravan lads. Dark beauty they call me, all the young caravan lads. Should they call me dark beauty again, I may then go with them. Should they call me dark beauty again, I may then go with them.

Will you call me, gallant, if you want to come with me? Will you call me, gallant, if you want to come with me? I've such excuses I cannot count, I just can't come with you. I've such excuses I cannot count, I just can't come with you.

Dark beauty they call me, though I say that I was born fair. Dark beauty they call me, though I say that I was born fair. From walking without, in the sun, gallant, I have lost my color. From walking without, in the sun, gallant, I have lost my color.

[elgaladwen]

So with the new LOTRO update there is a rock that should not be there between Trestlebridge and Bree.

It even blocks the stable horse path.

So people mentioned it in world chat, and slowly everyone gathered to see it. And then we had a big party on top of it.

Thank you Landroval server, you all are fun. <3 The glitch rock shall always be remembered.

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement for The Lord of the Rings Online of “ /Cocoon of White Dreams ~ Remembering the Past” from the visual/sound novel Umineko no Naku Koro ni, performed by Shikata Akiko and composed by Emori Keigo. You can download my Shikata-Cocoon-SoloHarp-v1.abc from Google Drive!

Specifically arranged for Basic Harp, but you can try it out on other plucked strings to see if you like it.

Not linking the lyrics because IMO they shouldn’t be read before finishing reading Umineko, which you should do because it’s a masterpiece.

[i-am-no-dam]

So do you all think that the Sindar ate Petty-dwarves??

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement for The Lord of the Rings Online of “Amorosa”, composed by Jorge Cardoso and performed by Liat Cohen and Ricardo Moyano in Variations Ladino. “Amorosa” is itself an arrangement of “La Rosa Enfloresce” by Haim Effendi, first recorded around 1905. You can download my Cohen-Amorosa-SoloLute-v1.abc from Google Drive!

Preview recorded in-game on Lute of Ages; it only really works on Lute of Ages or maybe Basic Lute.

Although this is a transcription from an instrumental version, the lyrics are available on sites like Lyrics Translate. My so-so, vaguely scanning English version for Dwarves to sing is under the cut.

The red rose opens in the month of May, A blossom on my lapel, As my soul grows fainter and fainter, It darkens from suffering with love. As my soul grows fainter and fainter, It darkens from suffering with love.

The nightingales perched in their lonely trees Cry out with sighs of love. As the sun sinks down, my torment increases, My passions still killing me, still killing me. As the sun sinks, and my torment increases, My passions are killing me.

Come quick and fly to me, my dove! Come quicker, fly to me! Oh, come quickly, my love, come to me, my soul, Or mine will die with the rose. Oh, come quick, love, hurry faster, hurry to me, my soul, Or mine will die with the rose.

[i-am-no-dam]

Is “Tingil, Conqueror of Writer’s Block” a legal name for an Elf and if so should this be my alt.

[southfarthing]

tag yourself lotro edition

[southfarthing]

bonus

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement for The Lord of the Rings Online of “Madre Mia Si Mi Muero / Mother, If I Die”, a Sephardic song from Sarajevo, AFAIK originally presented by Flory Jagoda. This is closely transcribed from Shira U’tfila’s version with a couple of ideas from a Jagoda live performance. You can download my ShiraUtfila-MadreMia-SoloLute-v1.abc from Google Drive!

This is specifically for Lute of Ages, but you can try it on other plucked strings to see if you like it. I couldn’t quite get it perfect but I still like it so I’m sharing it as a v1.

You can find the original Ladino lyrics and translation on sites like LyricsTranslate. I tried to make my own version for Dwarves to sing under the cut, but it’s a bit awkward still.

Oh, dear Mother, if I die, Do not hire me a cantor, Just twelve doughty, handsome lads, To bear me upon my bier.

Oh, honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey, Honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey.

Oh, dear Mother, if I die, Let them carry me uncovered, So that they can see that I died With my young beauty still untasted.

Oh, honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey, Honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey. Honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey. Honey, honey and sugar...

Oh, dear Mother, if I die, Do not hire me a cantor, Just twelve doughty, handsome lads, To bear me upon my bier. Oh, dear Mother, if I die, Let them carry me uncovered, So that they can see that I died With my young beauty still untasted.

Oh, honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey, Honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey. Honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey. Honey, honey and sugar, sugar, sugar and honey.

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement of “El Agua del Río” by Ana Alcaide. You can download my Alcaide-AguaDelRio-Solo-v1.abc from Google Drive!

Maybe not perfect but I’m happy with it, and happy to get it out of WIPs after 1.5 years....... Preview is recorded in-game on Lute of Ages, but it should also work on other plucked strings like Basic Harp.

The original lyrics are on sites like LyricsTranslate. Very rough English lyrics for Dwarves to sing that kinda rhyme and scan under the cut:

I sat upon the prow of the boat, And the ring on my finger slipped off my hand. The river water passed me by, And it stayed behind, lain on the sand.

"The water that in the river flows Will take away every sorrow."

Lai la la lai la lai...

The solitude of desolate nights, My image upon the black water's glass, So long outstretched, past what I could bear, Has also, I find, washed through me, and passed.

"The water that in the river flows Will take away every sorrow."

I sat upon the prow of the boat, And combed my wet hair with an ivory comb, For you, my love, as my perfume falls, On the water below, to find my way home.

"The water that in the river flows Will take away every sorrow."

Lai la la lai la lai...

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement for The Lord of the Rings Online of “This Wandering Day” from The Rings of Power, composed by Bear McCreary. You can download my McCreary-WanderingDay-Solo-v1.abc from Google Drive!

This is basically my duo version made playable on a single instrument. This version has more ornaments and counterpoint/weird harmonies. Preview recorded in-game on Lute of Ages, but you can try it on any plucked string and see if you like it.

[mrkida-art]

The Longbeard forces marching towards Azanulbizar included dwarves as young as 16. They were children forced into a reality they could not fully comprehend. The toys they once held in their hands had been replaced with swords, shields, and axes.

For when the King calls, none may refuse him

[i-am-no-dam]

wait when did they add reverb to the Pony??????

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement for The Lord of the Rings Online of “This Wandering Day” from The Rings of Power, composed by Bear McCreary. You can download my McCreary-WanderingDay-Duo-v1.abc from Google Drive!

You can play this with 1 or 2 characters. The “Lute of Ages Melody” line is here previewed on Lute of Ages, but you can use any plucked string you like. If you’re playing solo, you get a pretty simple, ‘naive’ arrangement without too many ornaments. Optionally, you can have a second character join with the “Basic Harp Accompaniment” (which, also, you can play on a different plucked string instrument if you like) which adds a little richer harmony.

[i-am-no-dam]

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An .abc arrangement for The Lord of the Rings Online of “Khazad-dûm” from The Rings of Power, composed by Bear McCreary. You can download my McCreary-KhazadDum-SoloHarp-v1.abc from Google Drive!

Optimized for Basic Harp, but Lute of Ages and Misty Mountains Harp work OK. It relies heavily on tremolo effects to help the melody line sing, so it will especially suffer in lag.

Some “Westron” lyrics I wrote under the cut, plus my rambling “translation notes”.

So there are some oddities with the original lyrics of the Khazad-dûm theme. They... don’t exactly make sense. Like, RoP probably has its own variant of Neo-Khuzdul, but “Khazad-dûm” mostly seems like a mishmash of the very small number of attested Khuzdul words. It does include “Gabilgathol” (great fortress), “baruk Khazâd” (axes of the Dwarves), “kibil” (silver), “uzbadu baraz” (king of the red).

But what’s even stranger is that “Gabilgathol” features so prominently. Gabilgathol is the Khuzdul name of Belegost! Why are we singing about Belegost in Khazad-dûm’s theme?? (Yes, it translates to “great fortress”, and Khazad-dûm is technically a great fortress; but Khazad-dûm translates to “Dwarf-home”, and every single Dwarf mansion is technically a Dwarf-home. Should Nogrod’s theme be all about praising “Khazad-dûm”?)

So I thought about why Khazad-dûm’s theme would open with a reference to Belegost. And... there is a reason that makes sense. Not only that, but that reason is the real reason why Khazad-dûm grows explosively and becomes a truly great mansion in the Second Age, even before the partnership with Eregion -- i.e. when we first see it in The Rings of Power.

So I attempted to make new Dwarrowscholar Neo-Khuzdul lyrics, trying to keep the attested Khuzdul in the same places, and then translated that, with a lot of poetic license, to this song that a Dwarvish bard might have sung in the Second Age to weary refugees on the East Road:

Gabilgathol's shadow on your back, Bearing still Dwarvish chisels, Tumunzahar's shadow on your back, Bearing still Dwarvish axes,

Hark ahead to the Mountains, Dwarves of the West, Where the red sun shines on his crown! Durin's kingdom where silver shining flows, Let your hammers rest in his Dwarf-home!

Kheled-zâram, where he saw the stars, Not as Blue as your homeland, Still will bear all the volume of your tears, Salting cold Kibil-nâla.

Then quench your thirst and look upon the Gates, Standing open, and light within! Durin's kingdom where silver shining flows, Swing your picks and make it your Dwarf-home!

We are all one kin in his Dwarf-home!

[i-am-no-dam]

Happy Pride!

This was… some June… but I hope you’re hanging in there. Have some modern AU LotRO Dwarves to hopefully make you smile.