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 to by fans as simply "The Dwarf Song," it features on pages 14-15 of The Hobbit. In The Hobbit, the song helps to explain the backstory 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.

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 simply shortened to The Misty Mountains.

In Tolkien's The Hobbit
Tolkien's lyrics as they appear in Chapter I ("An Unexpected Party") are:

Far over the misty mountains cold

To dungeons deep, and caverns old

We must away ere break of day

To seek the 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, in 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 height,

The winds were 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;

Then 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 their 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

as shown in Chapter XV ("The Gathering of the Clouds") 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 mountains cold,

&#145;Come back unto the caverns old&#146;!

Here at the Gates the king awaits,

His hands are rich with gems and gold.

The king is 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!

The Hobbit film trilogy


A version of Misty Mountains Cold is also heard in Peter Jackson's film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, with several changes from Tolkien's original work. Only two verses are sung, as follows:

''Far over the misty mountains cold,  To dungeons deep and caverns old,  We must away, ere break 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, unlike in the book.

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

The Soundtrack
The soundtrack for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has an original version named "Song of the Lonely Mountain" performed by Neil Finn. According to an interview with Rolling Stones, Neil Finn wrote the song and recorded it with his two sons, Elroy and Liam. Dave Fridmann did the mixing and "...[responded] well to my demands for 'more anvil!' Pop music needs more anvil!"

Neil Finn's version:

''Far over the Misty Mountains rise Leave us standing upon the heights What was before, we see once more Our kingdom a distant light''

''Fiery mountain beneath the moon The words unspoken, we’ll be there soon For home a song that echoes on And all who find us will know the tune''

''Some folk we never forget Some kind we never forgive Haven’t seen the back of us yet We’ll fight as long as we live''

''All eyes on the hidden door To the Lonely Mountain borne We’ll ride in the gathering storm Until we get our long-forgotten gold''

''We lay under the Misty Mountains cold In slumbers deep and dreams of gold We must awake, our lives to make And in the darkness a torch we hold''

''From long ago when lanterns burned Till this day our hearts have yearned Her fate unknown the Arkenstone What was stolen must be returned''

''We must awake and make the day To find a song for heart and soul''

''Some folk we never forget Some kind we never forgive Haven’t seen the end of it yet We’ll fight as long as we live''

''All eyes on the hidden door To the Lonely Mountain borne We’ll ride in the gathering storm Until we get our long-forgotten gold''

Far away from Misty Mountains cold

External link

 * http://thorinoakenshield.net/misty-mountains-lyrics/
 * http://thorinoakenshield.net/2012/11/12/neil-finns-song-of-the-lonely-mountain-lyrics/