Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold



Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold is a song sung by Thorin and company in J.R.R. Tolkien's novel The Hobbit. Often referred by fans as simply 'The Dwarf Song' features on page 14-15 of The Hobbit and is in the first chapter. In The Hobbit, the song helps to explain the back story of Thorin and his company, and plays a large role in the development of Bilbo from his 'Baggins' side to his 'Tookish' side, an evolution that takes most of the novel.

A version of Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold is also heard in Peter Jackson's film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

As Tolkien left no title for the song, Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold is sometimes referred to as The Dwarven Song, Thorin's Song or shorted to simply shortened to The Misty Mountains.

In Tolkien's The Hobbit
Tolkien's lyrics as they appear in chapter one 'An unexpected party' are as follows:



Far over the Misty Mountains cold,

To dungeons deep and caverns old,

We must away, ere break of day,

To seek our pale enchanted gold.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells, While hammers fell like ringing bells,

In places deep, where dark things sleep,

In hollow halls beneath the fells.

For ancient king and elvish lord

There many a gleaming golden hoard

They shaped and wrought, and light they caught,

To hide in gems on hilt of sword.

On silver necklaces they strung

The flowering stars, on crowns they hung

The dragon-fire, on twisted wire

They meshed the light of moon and sun.

Far over the Misty Mountains cold,

To dungeons deep and caverns old,

We must away, ere break of day,

To claim our long-forgotten gold.

Goblets they carved there for themselves,

And harps of gold, where no man delves

There lay they long, and many a song

Was sung unheard by men or elves.

The pines were roaring on the heights,

The wind was moaning in the night,

The fire was red, it flaming spread,

''The trees like torches blazed with light. ''

The bells were ringing in the dale,

And men looked up with faces pale.

The dragon's ire, more fierce than fire,

Laid low their towers and houses frail.

The mountain smoked beneath the moon.

The dwarves, they heard the tramp of doom.

They fled the hall to dying fall

Beneath his feet, beneath the moon.

Far over the Misty Mountains grim,

To dungeons deep and caverns dim,

We must away, ere break of day,

To win our harps and gold from him!

Towards the end of the novel, after the slaying of the dragon another version of the song is sung. The lyrics are as shown on page 235-236 are:

Under the Mountain dark and tall,

The King has come unto his hall!

His foe is dead, the Worm of Dread,

And ever so his foes shall fall!

The sword is sharp, the spear is long,

The arrow swift, the Gate is strong.

The heart is bold that looks on gold;

The dwarves no more shall suffer wrong.

The dwarves of yore made mighty spells,

While hammers fell like ringing bells

In places deep, where dark things sleep,

In hollow halls beneath the fells.

On silver necklaces they strung

The light of stars, on crowns they hung

The dragon-fire, from twisted wire

The melody of harps they wrung.

The mountain throne once more is freed!

O! Wandering folk, the summons heed!

''Come haste! Come haste! Across the waste!''

The king of friend and kin has need.

Now call we over the mountains cold,

Come back unto the caverns old!

Here at the gates the king awaits,

His hands are rich with gems and gold.

The king has come unto his hall

Under the Mountain dark and tall.

The Worm of Dread is slain and dead,

And ever so our foes shall fall!

In Peter Jackson's Film Adaptions
In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey there are several changes from Tolkien's original work. Firstly only two verses are sung, compared to the book's ten. It goes as such: Far over the misty mountain cold,

To dungeons deep and caverns old,

We must away, ere bre'ak of day,

To find our long forgotten gold.

The pines were roaring on the height,

The winds were moaning in the night,

The fire was red, it flaming spread,

The trees like torches blazed with light.

In the film the song is sung without instrumentation while the book states that it is.

The song features on the film's sound track upon a track called Misty Mountains. Also the tune of the song is crafted into Thorin and company's main musical theme. The music of the films was conducted and composed by Howard Shore.

External link

 * http://thorinoakenshield.net/misty-mountains-lyrics/