Cold be hand and heart and bone,

!

The title of this article is conjectural. While the content of this article is based on official information, the actual name of the subject is conjectural, and is yet to or cannot be officially named.

!

"Cold be hand and heart and bone," was the first line of an incantation sung by the Barrow-wight that trapped Frodo Baggins, Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took, and Samwise Gamgee in its barrow after they left Tom Bombadil's house. When Frodo first heard it, it was no more than a murmur, but soon manifested as a song of horrible sounds and cold words before changing into an incantation that chilled him to the bone.

Text

Cold be hand and heart and bone,

and cold be sleep under stone:

never more to wake on stony bed,

never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead.

In the black wind the stars shall die,

and still on gold here let them lie,

till the dark lord lifts his hand

over dead sea and withered land.

The reference near the end to the "dark lord" refers to Morgoth and not Sauron, due to the line "till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead", which most likely refers to the Last Battle at the End of Arda, where Morgoth destroys the Sun and Moon after escaping the Timeless Void.

In adaptations

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

In the second film of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Gollum chants an altered version of the Barrow-wight's song in the Dead Marshes just before Frodo refers to him as Sméagol:

Cold be heart and hand and bone,

Cold be travelers far from home,

They do not see what lies ahead

when sun has failed and moon is dead.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring video game

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2002 video game, the incantation is recited by a disembodied voice during the battle against the Barrow-wight.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Barrow-wights are heard chanting this song.