The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late was a song composed by Bilbo Baggins. The title of this version is given in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book; it may be related to the poem The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon.
History[]
In the The Prancing Pony in Bree, Frodo Baggins jumps on a table and recites this song, only referred to as "a ridiculous song invented by Bilbo".[1]
Form[]
There follows the tale, in thirteen ballad-like five-line stanzas, introducing each element in turn: "the Man in the Moon" himself, the ostler's "tipsy cat/that plays a five-stringed fiddle", the little dog, the "hornéd cow".
As with many ballads of this form, it scans rather well to the tune of the theme from "Gilligan's Island." Which can be played to the guitar line of "Stairway to Heaven." Such are the dangers of the folk form.
First stanza[]
There is an inn, a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
That the Man in the Moon himself came down
One night to drink his fill.
Behind the Scenes[]
According to J.R.R. Tolkien, this poem survived to "our time" in the form of the simplified nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle".
"Here it is in full," said Tolkien. "Only a few words of it are now, as a rule, remembered."
as proud as any queen.
But music turns her head like ale,
And makes her wave her tufted tail
And dance upon the green."
and "O! the rows of silver dishes/ and the store of silver spoons."
At the climactic moment
"With a ping and a pang the fiddle-strings broke!
the cow jumped over the Moon,
And the little dog laughed to see such fun
And the Saturday dish went off at a run
with the silver Sunday spoon."
Note that the cow is able to jump over the Moon with ease because the Man in the Moon has temporarily brought it down to Earth.
Part of Tolkien's brilliance in establishing the epic mood is his ability to introduce a version of a familiar saying and give the reader a sense of hearing the old proverb afresh, as if spoken for the first time, in the heat of the moment.
In adaptations[]
The Hobbit film trilogy[]
In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Bofur sings a revised version of this song whilst eating in Rivendell. The song's lyrics are as follows:
“There is an inn, there's an inn, there's a merry old inn
beneath an old grey hill,
And there they brew a beer so brown
The Man in the Moon himself came down
one night to drink his fill.
Oh, the ostler has a tipsy cat
that plays a five-stringed fiddle;
And up and down he saws his bow
Now squeaking high, now purring low,
now sawing in the middle.
So, the cat on the fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle,
a drink that'll wake the dead,
He squeaked and he sawed and he quickened the tune,
And the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:
‘It's after three!’ he said.
See also[]
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Albanian | Njeriu në Hënë shkoi në shtrat shumë vonë |
| Arabic | رجل في القمر سهر لوقت متأخر |
| Armenian | Լուսնի մարդը շատ ուշ գնաց քնելու |
| Azerbaijani | Aydakı Adam çox gec yatdı |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Як Месячны дзед засядзеўся |
| Bengali | দ্য ম্যান ইন দ্য মুন অনেক দেরি করে ঘুমাতে গেল |
| Bosnian | Čovek na Mesecu je kasno legao u krevet |
| Breton | Paotr e vec'h lann zo chomet dihun re ziwezhat |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Човекът от Луната осъмна на Земята |
| Catalan | L'Home de la Lluna se'n va anar a dormir massa tard |
| Chinese | 月中老人熬长夜 |
| Croatian | Čovjek na Mjesecu je prekasno otišao u krevet |
| Czech | Muž na Měsíci šel spát příliš pozdě |
| Danish | Månemanden ude for sent |
| Dutch | De Man in de Maan bleef te laat op |
| Estonian | Kuu mees läks magama liiga hilja |
| Finnish | Kuu-ukko kun unohtui juhlimaan |
| French | L'homme dans la lune a veillé trop tard |
| Georgian | მთვარის კაცი გვიანობამდე იჯდა |
| German | Der Mann im Mond trank gutes Bier |
| Hebrew | איש הסהר נשאר נורא מאוחר |
| Hindi | द आदमी इन द चंद्रमा बहुत देर से बिस्तर पर गया |
| Italian | L'Uomo della Luna andò a letto troppo tardi |
| Japanese | 月の男は寝るのが遅すぎた |
| Korean | 달에 사는 사나이는 너무 늧게 일어났다 |
| Latvian | Cilvēks uz Mēness aizgāja gulēt pārāk vēlu |
| Lithuanian | Žmogus Mėnulyje nuėjo miegoti per vėlai |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Човекот на Месечината си легна предоцна |
| Nepalese | चन्द्रमामा मानिस धेरै ढिलो ओछ्यानमा गए |
| Norwegian | Månemannen ute for sent |
| Occitan | L'Òme de la Luna s'endormí tròp tard |
| Persian | مرد ماهنشین تا دیروقت بیدار بود |
| Polish | Jak Człek z Księżyca za późno poszedł spać |
| Punjabi | ਚੰਦਰਮਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਬਹੁਤ ਦੇਰ ਨਾਲ ਸੌਣ ਲਈ ਗਿਆ |
| Russian | Как Лунный дед засиделся |
| Sardinian | S'Òmine de sa Luna s'est andadu a dormire meda tardu |
| Serbian | Човек на Месецу је прекасно легао у кревет (Cyrillic) Čovek na Mesecu je prekasno legao u krevet (Latin) |
| Sicilian | L'Omu di la Luna si misi a dormiri troppu tardu |
| Slovak | Muž na Mesiaci išiel spať príliš neskoro |
| Slovenian | Človek na Luni je šel spat prepozno |
| Spanish | Al Hombre de la Luna se le hizo un rato tarde |
| Swedish | Mångubben ute för sent |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Місячанин спати запізно ліг |
| Urdu | چاند میں آدمی بہت دیر سے سونے پر گیا |
References[]
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter IX: "At the Sign of the Prancing Pony"