Day is ended, dim my eyes,
But journey long before me lies.
Farewell, friends! I hear the call.
The ships beside the stony wall.
Foam is white and waves are grey;
Beyond the sunset leads my way.
Foam is salt, the wind is free;
I hear the rising of the Sea.
Farewell, friends! The sails are set,
The wind is east, the moorings fret.
Shadows long before me lie,
Beneath the ever-bending sky,
But islands lie behind the Sun
That I shall raise ere all is done;
Lands there are to west of West,
Where night is quiet and sleep is rest.
Guided by the lonely Star,
Beyond the utmost harbour-bar,
Ill find the havens fair and free,
And beaches of the Starlit Sea.
Ship, my ship! I seek the West,
And fields and mountains ever blest.
Farewell to Middle-earth at last,
I see the Star above your mast!
Bilbo’s Last Song, JRR Tolkien, Music by Donald Swann
Donald Swann was the first composer to set Tolkien’s poems and songs to music with the professor’s express approval, as documented in the 1967 book and record “The Road Goes Ever On.” Shortly after Tolkien’s death, his publishing secretary shared this poem, given to her as a parting gift by Tolkien, with Swann, and he set it to music that very day.
Impressions from The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King
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