"Now and For Always" - Lines & Lyrics in the LotR Musical
"Now and For Always", Sam and Frodo's beautiful duet, is one of the most popular & touching songs in the show. The two of them reminisce about evenings spent around the fire back home in the Shire, the nature of Hobbits, and their deep friendship and love for each other.
Stories we tell will cast their spell
Now and for always
These lyrics take on an even deeper meaning now that Peter Howe, who originated the role of Sam in Toronto and London, passed away last month. May he rest in peace.
Lines and lyrics as performed in the West End version below the cut; it's a little different from the Toronto version in this clip.
This is my own transcript of the scene, not the official script.
A deserted place close to Mordor. FRODO, SAM and GOLLUM climb into view. The Hobbits are wearing their Elven cloaks. FRODO is more weary than before. GOLLUM points.
GOLLUM: There! There it is. Mount Doom.
SAM: Look at it, the way it lights up the sky - it reminds me of one of Mr Gandalf’s fireworks. Do you miss him?
FRODO: I miss his bushy eyebrows and his quick temper. And his voice. How far away are we, Sam?
SAM: Three days. Maybe four if we get all the cover we can.
FRODO: So close.
SAM: (sitting down and unpacking his bag) Come on. Let’s eat something to keep our spirits up.
GOLLUM turns to the Hobbits and signals for them to follow him.
GOLLUM: Keep moving. Come. Come!
SAM: (to FRODO) No, no.
GOLLUM: (angry) Come!
SAM: (to GOLLUM) Wait! (to FRODO) You’re going to eat something, Frodo Baggins, before we take another step.
GOLLUM freezes and turns, hit by a sudden realisation.
GOLLUM: …Baggins? No no, not Baggins!
SAM: And then we’ll walk South to those… doomy fires, whatever they’re called so we’ll have this over with and get back to the Shire and how things used to be before we ever heard of magic rings and the like… (spotting something in his bag) Here, look. (he gets up and approaches FRODO) Lady Galadriel gave me this. It’s a box of earth from her orchard. She said it might reward us when we get home.
FRODO: I don’t know if things will ever be how they used to be, Sam. It’s something Lady Galadriel said in Lothlórien, and something she wouldn’t tell me. But I’ve worked it out. Remember when we left the Shire? We met those Elves heading West.
SAM: How could I forget?
FRODO: They were leaving, Sam. Soon they all will. If Sauron gets the One Ring again -
SAM: He won’t. We’re going to make sure he doesn’t.
FRODO: Whether we do or not, the Elves will still leave. Gandalf said it. If the One Ring goes, then all rings lose their power. You see, Lady Galadriel’s ring is what protects Lothlórien, it protects their home. Without it, there will be no more Elves, no more magic - anywhere.
SAM: No more Elves? That’ll change everything.
SAM returns to his bag and sits.
SAM: You know the stories in the old songs and tales, the ones we used to sing around the big fire at the Ivy Bush. Who knows? People went on journeys and they had big adventures, but nothing ever really seemed to change/changed, did it? Not like this. You know, the trouble is, we Hobbits only really like stories that end up just the way they started, don’t we?
SAM: Sing me a story of heroes of the Shire,
Muddling through,
Brave and true.
Stubborn as bindweed and tough as old briar,
Never too showy or grand.
Year after year
They persevere
Now and for always.
FRODO takes off his hood and settles down beside SAM.
Harfoots who planted and Stoor folk who ploughed,
Bred to endure,
Slow but sure.
Fallohide blood in your veins makes you proud,
Sturdy and steady they stand.
True to their aim
To stay the same
Now and for always.
BOTH: Sit by the firelight’s glow.
Tell us an old tale we know.
Tell us of adventures strange and rare –
Never to change
Ever to share
Stories we tell will cast their spell
Now and for always.
FRODO: You know, I used to think the great adventures in the old songs and tales were things special folk went out looking for. But they weren’t, were they? They were just things they got landed in.
SAM: I wonder what kind of story we’ve landed in.
Sing me the story of Frodo and the Ring.
Fearless and bold.
FRODO: (laughing) Tired and cold.
SAM: Sword at his side, an Elf-blade called Sting,
Crossing a mis’rable land.
Wouldn’t retreat
Just followed his feet
Now and for always.
BOTH: Sit by the firelight’s glow.
Tell us an old tale we know.
Tell of adventures strange and rare –
Never to change
Ever to share
Stories we tell will cast their spell
Now and for always.
SAM: I wish Gollum was in a tale, eh?
FRODO: He might be good in a tale.
SAM: Better than he is in real life, anyway. A good deal less smelly. (laughs)
FRODO: Oh, for a piece of Mrs Bracegirdle’s plumcake.
SAM: Mrs Bracegirdle.
They share a laugh.
FRODO: They’re all so far away. (after a moment) It’s not me they’ll remember, you know? (getting no response) Sam?
SAM has fallen asleep.
FRODO: Sing me the tale of the bravest of them all.
In the lotr musical what is the context of Wonder? Like what’s going on on stage during that musical number?
"Wonder" is one of my favourites! At least when it's suitably placed in the musical. There's quite a big difference between both productions: in Toronto, "Wonder" starts immediately after the Temptation of Galadriel in Lórien. However, in London, they introduced "Lothlórien" at the beginning of the Lórien sequence and let Galadriel sing a reprise of that song instead of "Wonder", which was then moved to Act 3, shortly before "The Final Battle".
Toronto
After Galadriel passes the "test", she and Frodo talk about the destruction of the ring and the impending doom of the elves:
Then, she gives Frodo the phial containing the light of Eärendil:
Soon after, Frodo falls asleep, and Galadriel gets up to sing "Wonder". She moves about the stage a bit, and other elves stand there holding candles, but nothing else happens:
In the middle of the song, the stage starts to rotate, the elves with the candles change position, and the rest of the Fellowship receive their gifts. Here Galadriel is standing in front of Gimli:
Soon after, the company leaves Lórien (as well as the stage) and Galadriel sings the final verse. Here's the last frame:
You can listen to the entire sequence here: Test - Wonder
Sadly, they cut most of this scene and song from the press reels.
West End
Once again, it's pretty hard to tell what exactly is happening during this scene because there's no complete video, sadly. EDIT: There is a video, but my assumptions were largely correct.
So judging by the audio recordings:
As I said, "Wonder" is part of Act 3. Sam rescues Frodo from Shelob and they chase Gollum away. Frodo's despair is growing and it's getting harder for him to muster the strength to go on ('There's nothing between me and the fire, Sam'). Sam manages to motivate him, and they set off (Let's go into Mordor, together'). Immediately after that, Galadriel starts singing.
She enters the stage when Sam and Frodo are getting ready to leave:
At some point during the song, Frodo and Sam leave, and the rest of the Fellowship, along with the Steward and the Army of Allies, enter and prepare for battle.
The synopsis contained in the brochure puts it as follows:
'Galadriel weaves magical spells of protection as the army goes to war.'
I assume she's standing on an elevated part of the stage in the back now:
... based on this photo:
And the brochure:
Before the last chorus of the song, Gimli and Legolas make plans for their time after the battle and sing a couple of verses while Galadriel vocalises in the background. She then starts with the final chorus 'Shine forever beacon of light...', and during the final (powerful) 'Shine foreveeeeer', Aragorn challenges Sauron. When he finishes his speech, Galadriel sings the final three 'Wondeeeer's. I have no idea what exactly is happening on stage at this point :/
After this, the final battle starts.
I took the two screenshots from here. Here you can listen to an audio of "Wonder".
I'm so sorry I can't can't provide more details of the West End version, but I hope this gives you at least an idea of what's going on on stage 😶
I personally like the West End version much better because the song feels just too massive after the Lórien sequence. It fits better with the battle preparations when it doesn't take up too much time. It's a GORGEOUS SONG, no doubt, and when sung in concert, you definitely don't get bored after a while, but when you're used to the fast pace of the LotR Musical, a massive song that does basically nothing to further the plot feels oddly out of place.
I was thinking about how the temptation of Galadriel was portrayed in the musical. I've listened to Lothlorien and Lothlorien (Reprise), I know Galadriel definitely does a scary voice. Do you know what else is happening? She definitely couldn't do a costume change since she doesn't leave the stage. Is there a change in lighting? Any special facial expression?
Since I haven't actually seen the musical, my answer is based on the bits and pieces of footage out there - maybe someone else can add on.
You're right, Galadriel doesn't leave the stage until the Fellowship leaves Lorien, so there's no costume change a la FotR movie. When Galadriel goes full *scary mode*, Frodo falls to the floor and shields his face. As far as I know, the lighting doesn't change, see this screenshot of the scene in Toronto:
I don't know if that changed in London. I hope it did, because the scene could be... improved.
There's no video from London, but a couple of photos:
No change in lighting here, either, but we do get to see her facial expression!
And a change from Toronto, unless the last photo is from a different scene: Galadriel falls/sits down. (Getting up in that costume must be... complicated. Also, is that HAIR in the third pic? Where did it come from?)
