A Bit of Background on "The Edge of Night" Song in The Hobbit: BOTFA Teaser Trailer

The Road Goes Ever On

Roads go ever, ever on 

Under cloud and under star,

Yet feet that wandering have gone

Turn at last to home afar,

Eyes that fire and sword have seen

And horror in the halls of stone

 Bilbo Baggins

From The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Read by J.R.R. Tolkien

"The Edge of Night" sung by Billy Boyd in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King which has lyrics from the last verse of "A Walking Song"  (From Wikipedia)

A Walking Song

Upon the hearth the fire is red,
Beneath the roof there is a bed;
But not yet weary are our feet,
Still round the corner we may meet
A suden tree or standing stone
That none have seen but we alone.
Tree and flower and leaf and grass,
Let them pass! Let them pass!
Hill and water under sky,
Pass them by! Pass them by!

Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though we pass them by today,
Tomorrow we may come this way
And take the hidden paths that run
Towards the Moon or to the Sun.
Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe,
Let them go! Let them go!
Sand and stone and pool and dell,
Fare you well! Fare you well!

Home is behind the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We'll wander back to home and bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,
And then to bed! And then to bed!


Still round the corner there may wait
A new road or a secret gate,
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.

From The Lord of the Rings

By J.R.R. Tolkien 

(http://home.agh.edu.pl/~szymon/Tolkien/?fn=2)

LOTR 30 Day Challenge - Question #30: How you got into LOTR?

When I was a teenager The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books were very popular with many of my fellow students. But I don't remember ever talking about Tolkien in English Lit class here in the US, or even being assigned either book in school. But Tolkien's ideas certainly resonated with the tone of the times. 

Also at the time there were several restaurants and coffee shops in my area that were named after characters in Tolkien's books. I remember they mostly served vegetarian meals or sandwiches with lots of alfalfa sprouts. Though I often frequented places like this with friends, and knew generally what the name "Bilbo Baggins" on the front of the menu referred to, I was still not inspired to read any of Tolkien's work.  I was more of a Bronte Sisters - Jane Austen type of reader. Fantasy was really not my genre. 

Fast forward quite a few years and this comes across my radar one day:

By this time I had been a fan of Sean Bean's for several years. Though I liked other actors, Bean's career was the only one I really followed in great detail. I was thrilled that Sean was cast in this film, especially since he seemed so happy to get the part of Boromir.  I knew about Tolkien from my teenage years, and now I really had an incentive to find out more. So I followed the progress of The Fellowship of the Ring, and Sean's work as Boromir, and what was happening in New Zealand as much as I could in the time before Twitter and Facebook. For me this was mainly through The Compleat Sean Bean website.

It was a thrilling time reading all of the LOTR press and all the interviews with Sean talking about working with Peter Jackson, and Viggo Mortensen, and the rest of the cast.  I well remember an excellent interview on Charlie Rose (a US Public Television program), maybe a two night interview I think, with many of the  LOTR cast.  Sadly Sean was not there, but Peter Jackson and Viggo Mortensen I remember very well.  

From The Charlie Rose Show

I started out being interested in the films because of my love for Sean Bean, but after watching the first film and all the interviews with the rest of the cast, and with Peter Jackson, I fell in love with the LOTR films and the entire cast. 

I remember going to see the first LOTR film, The Fellowship of the Ring, with a friend. To this day she has no idea who Sean Bean is, but I talked her into watching this new action/adventure fantasy film with me. 

We're in the darkened theater watching the movie and suddenly there on screen is Boromir.  He walks towards the Shards of Narsil, picks up part of the broken sword, pricks his finger and says 

"Still Sharp(e)" 

I must have made some strange, loud, strangling, noise at that moment, a gasp maybe, a shout, because my friend leans over to me and in a very worried tone says "Are you OK?" 

Even so, I was still not interested enough in the genre to read The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit.  

Premiere time for the Lord of the Rings cast

So what finally lead me to read one of Tolkien's books - The Hobbit?

This man:

Richard Armitage

It seems all my men are destined for 

Middle-earth 

So this concludes the LOTR 30 Day Challenge

Thank you to Sir Doctor of Tardis for the terrific challenge - it has been a fun 30 days

A special "Gracias" to my friend Cassia on FB for keeping the faith, following every day, and sharing my posts on her FB Timeline.

A small musical "Thank you" treat  for Cassia from The Tolkien Ensemble:  Song of Durin

For all who visited and read and commented along the way- Thank you for sharing this journey with me. 


Thanks to The Compleat Sean Bean, The Mighty Bean,  RichardArmitageNet.com, YouTube

LOTR 30 Day Challenge - Day 3: Favorite Character

My favorite character is Boromir

I don't think I would have followed the LOTR films as closely if it had not been for Sean Bean. The fact he was cast as Boromir led to my initial interest, but after watching the first film in the trilogy, I was hooked on the rest. 

Through Rohan over fen and field where the long grass grows 

The West Wind comes walking, and about the walls it goes. 

'What news from the West, O wandering wind, do you bring me tonight? 

Have you seen Boromir the Tall by moon or by starlight?' 

'I saw him ride over seven streams, over waters wide and grey; 

I saw him walk in empty lands, until he passed away 

Into the shadows of the North. I saw him then no more. 

The North Wind may have heard the horn of the son of Denethor.'

'O Boromir! From the high walls westward I looked afar, 

But you came not from the empty lands where no men are.

From the mouths of the Sea the South Wind flies, from the sand hills and the stones; 

The wailing of the gulls it bears, and at the gate it moans.

'What news from the South, O sighing wind, do you bring me at eve? 

Where now is Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve.'

'Ask not of me where he doth dwell – so many bones there lie 

On the white shores and the dark shores under the stormy sky; 

So many have passed down Anduin to find the flowing Sea. 

Ask of the North Wind news of them the North Wind sends to me!' 

'O Boromir! Beyond the gate the seaward road runs south, 

But you came not with the wailing gulls from the grey sea’s mouth.'

From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls; 

And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls. 

'What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring me today? 

What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away.'

'Beneath Amon Hen I heard his cry, there many foes he fought. 

His cloven shield, his broken sword, they to the water brought. 

His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest; 

And Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, bore him upon its breast.'

'O Boromir! The Tower of Guard shall ever northward gaze 

To Raurors, golden Rauros-falls, until the end of days.'

http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Boromir

LOTR 30 Day Challenge - Day 2: Favorite Battle

My favorite battle is The Battle of Helms Deep

 In Film #2 The Two Towers

LOTR 30 Day Challenge - Day 1: Favorite Film

LOTR 30 Day Challenge - by @sir_doctoroftardis

Day 1:  Favorite Film

My favorite film is The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Why is it my favorite? I think in part because it is the most character driven of the three films, to me anyway, and it introduces us to the Fellowship and the characters we will follow in the three films.  Of course, my favorite also because of this character:

Boromir (Sean Bean)

(This challenge is about the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and not The Hobbit)

I found the challenge on Pinterest this morning and thought it would be a fun challenge to answer as I am a fan of the films. Below are all the questions. Thank you Sir Doctor of Tardis.

http://middle-earth-appreciation.tumblr.com/post/47203444895/from-my-instagram-page-sir-doctoroftardis-i

Richard Armitage Talks about The Hobbit in 2006

I was looking through my old vids and had forgotten I posted this and that Richard Armitage talked about his love of The Hobbit back in 2006 when playing Guy of Gisborne in Robin Hood:

The interview is from one of the Robin Hood audio books that Richard recorded. (I'll have to look up the one, and update here).

Update: Interview from "Sheriff Got Your Tongue?" audio book, released in 2006

It was fate-he had to be Thorin

Happy Guy Day

A Video About? My Life

Don't know why I'm in a video mood lately. 

Playing with a favorite song, art, Middle-earth, dreams, nightmares, comedy...winter on the other side of the world...and the start of summer on my side.  

Voices Part V - More of The Hobbit Cast: Poetry and Humor

I continue my occasional Voices series with more of the cast of The Hobbit.  I'm always interested in the effect of an actors voice on the roles they play and on the audience, and also love to find poetry readings or audio books by favorite actors.  I'm also curious about the cast of The Hobbit and hope to continue my exploration of their voice work  while they work on the films, the first one is scheduled to open in 2012.

I've probably seen  more of Benedict Cumberbatch's television work than that of any other young British actor.  For some reason U.S. Public Television stations have acquired almost everything that Mr. Cumberbatch has made in the last few years.  So I'm very familiar with him as an actor, though I know nothing of him personally.  I've seen him in period and contemporary dramas and he's a very versatile and excellent actor.  He has a very deep and often mellifluous voice which I enjoy.  

Recently there's been a flurry of news when his Sherlock co-star, Martin Freeman, mentioned, before any official announcement, that he was also cast in The Hobbit. The rumor mills and predictions are going full force, and most seem to think he has been cast as the voice of the dragon, Smaug.  Oddly enough, I've never seen Benedict Cumberbatch play a true villain, so if he is Smaug, this will be interesting. 

Calexora mentioned in a comment on Voices Part IV below that she was curious about his voice. Below you can listen to Benedict Cumberbatch reading the poem Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge: 

Update on June 16, 2011:  Benedict Cumberbatch will be the voice of Smaug in The Hobbit:

http://www.slashfilm.com/benedict-cumberbatch-voicing-smaug-the-hobbit/

I tried to find readings of any kind with Martin Freeman to listen to his voice in an unexpected role, but so far have been unsuccessful.  But I did find this clip, apparently in answer to an interview question, that sounds to me more like a monologue from a one man play called "Martin Freeman".  Mr. Freeman is obviously a naturally funny man, but having seen him in Sherlock, I also now know he's a very good dramatic actor.  I can't wait to see him as Bilbo Baggins.


Martin Freeman- I Would Cook Jesus Pasta:

When Sherlock aired in the U.S. on PBS (Public Television) in 2010 I wrote my impressions of the program, before I knew either actor would be cast for The Hobbit. To read my post click on the link:
http://whiterosewritings.blogspot.com/2010/10/elementary-my-dear.html


Would a post about The Hobbit be complete without the great man himself! No, I don't mean Peter Jackson, though he is a great man also, I mean J.R.R. Tolkien himself,  author of  The Hobbit and Lord of The Rings and creator of a fantasy world that can seem just as real as the one we all inhabit. Below is a video clip of Tolkien reading a poem in Elvish, a language he created:

Below is a translation of the poem that was posted in the comment section of the above video:

For now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the stars,

From Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds

And all paths are drowned deep in shadow;

And out of a grey country darkness lies

On the foaming waves between us,

And mist covers the jewels of Calacirya for ever.

Now lost, lost to those of the East is Valimar!

Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar!

Maybe even thou shalt find it! Farewell!

From all accounts Ian Holm will also be in The Hobbit as the old Bilbo.  It's going to be a treat for all Lord of the Rings movie fans to see him again, and to see him in the same films with Martin Freeman playing the younger Bilbo.  I've seen Ian Holm through the years in everything from Shakespeare to playing Napoleon Bonaparte, from comedy to drama, and he never fails to give an amazing performance. He also has a very distinctive voice, and though he can inhabit a role, you always know it's Ian Holm.  In the video below he reads "There's Hope..." a poem by Anno Birkin (1981-2001).

Of course, I can't have a post that mentions The Hobbit without mentioning my favorite voice of all, Richard Armitage, who is playing Thorin Oakenshield.  Below is one of my favorite readings by RA, I often listen to it if I feel particularly melancholic.  The poem is called "Code Poem for the French Resistance : The Life that I Have" by  Leo Marks:

There are several videos of RA reading this poem, but I was inspired to make my own little version.


The poem itself has a very interesting history.  The poem is really a poem code or poem cipher written/created by Leo Marks, who was a cryptographer during World War II.  Marks wrote the poem for use by agents during the war. The poem was also about Marks former girlfriend who died in a plane crash.  A very appropriate poem for Lucas North I think.  


To read more about the curious story of this romantic poem and the fascinating people involved, check out the links below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_Samuel_Marks

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violette_Szabo

I hope to continue the Voices series of posts and to continue to feature more actors from The Hobbit. Would love your comments as always.