Antique Lyrics of Arda

[Walküre]

The Song of the Elements


Earth, the skeleton of all thou art, with thy ways below the very structure of Arda sustaining,
Thy bones the highest mountains hold and far continents keep together, be it plains, hills or surfaces of blue under the sea,
Indeed, the gravest sorrows and wounds to thee have been inflicted, as the mightiest forces of the World against one another waged war, since what of time the beginning was,
To Aulë, to the Smith-Vala thou respondest, having him government over anything which of Matter consisteth, moulding and to an infinite kind of things giving actual fashion.

Water, thou coverest all pits and depths on the surfaces, thus an immense vastness creating, ever-wavering, voluble and indomitable as real freedom,
Routes for great ships and home to a grand range of marine creatures, foul or noble the kind,
In wrath thou much perilous and treacherous might become, when storms beyond the horizon rage and wind thy path ruleth,
Thou servest the Sea-Vala Ulmo, Lord of all oceans, and to him news and every whisper of mortal deeds thou bringest, as via rivers, lakes and streams there is naught thou may not reach.

Fire, often despised and by living beings hated, a part of the firmament thou nonetheless art,
With the property of doing and undoing reality as thou wishest,
Too many times the Evil thee hath used, to avail its fell plans and terror on Arda to provoke,
Melkor, the Dark Vala, thus of thee made extensive usage, although thou good also hast done, in Aulë's creations and in keeping the weary flame of hope always alive.

Air, ocean of winds and breezes, above what liveth and breatheth thou were put,
To embrace all lands with thy gentle touch, and the course of daily existence from the heavens to guard,
Should thou move fast and swift across territories and waters, dreadful events for all might befall,
Yet thou of Manwë Súlimo, Holy Spirit, art the domain, and his Eagles throughout skies long journey and vigilant on Middle-earth always remain.

Light, dominant and mightiest of all the other ones,
Thou over darkness winnest and thy splendour the halls of Eä as a whole rekindleth,
And of Stars thou art life and the only heart, and immortal, eternal and imperishable beyond the circles and skies of Arda they stand,
It was Snow-White Varda who Light in the universe hath brought, timeless symbol of Ilúvatar the Almighty, since the founding of the ancestral Two Lamps, the mythical Two Trees and of the Sun and the Moon which now our dwelling bright and warm make.

[Walküre]

Fair guests, the Rulers of Arda your noble lyrics in their halls of diamond shall fain hear


Fair Vanyar, the King and Queen of Eä to your majestic lyrics shall fain pay attention,
For naught else them merry and joyful rendereth, than hearing jubilant voices along their vast halls of diamond at the apex of Arda,
Upon their throne they shall thus hear and with care contemplate, the arts of the Eldar that to the Archangels are immensely dear,
May ye, Fair Elves, never be shy nor to sing unsure, as silent places in a heavy burden for one's heart often result, when one just some little rhymes and pure poetry to rejoice at the World needeth.

[Walküre]

Envy, this the proud kingdom has marred


Envy, slithering smooth as a thin serpent, all it seems to consume and spoil,
Grand deeds, long-time friendship and the valour of the old times, of which very little has now in the Third Age of Arda persisted,
Snide acts of the most malicious sort, of whom can't accept that glory and talent might choose someone else to bless, of whom can't accept that power is held by those who the burden may bear,
Alas, it is envy that the proud kingdom of Men has marred, and always it waits for the just time, to loosen the ties of amicable courtesy and our hearts frozen to render.

[Walküre]

Free I am! And loose and indomitable as the deep sea!


Free I am! And loose and indomitable as the deep sea under the blue of Arda,
Vain the effort of those who for the dominion of my heart seek, and fool the attempt of such an empty act,
For to myself only I belong, and friendship, bond and love with me only in pure terms you may have,
As the arrogant one's will shall fail and the ill-intentioned request shall be denied,

And the true valour and strength only via wisdom and endurance might be shown to me, with these being the real nature that gallantry may grant,
May you of this spoken truth be very certain, that I shall never be conquered by violence and by the crude touch of tyranny swayed,
Cruelty I have already passed through and the immense grief to my heart this pain has brought,
While I saw my kin in blood, lifeless and silent in their stained harbour lying, by the sea which relief and defence for them all represented,

Hearken, legendary Craftsman and of the Noldor the new High King,
Never shall I avail your schemes and the perpetrators of the hideous murder by any means aid,
Right and just the time when my golden-silver locks to you were not gifted,
A raging soul by wrath and grudge poisoned, that very unlikely a comforting rest even within the Judge's grey domain shall ever find,

I am loose and fierce as the deep sea, which to my kin of the havens very dear is,
I am Nerwen of the House of the Fair, and wise and pious towards anyone in need,
My ancient ambitions may take me away from this blessed shore for a time I cannot foretell,
Yet memory of these green shires never undimmed shall be, along with contempt and great resentment for the vile hearts that the most terrible atrocity dared to commit.


Galadriel's pledge of revenge and utmost censure for whom had dared to stain the ways of the Teleri's harbour with the blood of the Elven kind. Possibly, the worst crime attributed to Fëanor and his House. Deep unfriendliness, if not hatred, would then be between the two characters up to the death of the very Smith.

[Walküre]

Beauty cold and pale, yet ardent the spirit as the very flame


A beauty born from winter and the cold of the heath,
Amidst bushes, frozen ground and the grass which always for survival fights,
Sharp and fierce the character, but a great heart indeed, kindled by grandness and braveness,
The maiden was soon taught to wield the sword, to defend her people and the Horse Lords' rule over the plain,

Cold and pale she may be named and deemed,
Such an ill-conceived thought this would be,
As, if appearance shows itself in the winter's fashion, very ardent is the spirit and proud beyond the thinkable limit,
Who the Shield-Maiden could ever hinder, when foes fall at her feet and her blade the dignity of the weakest with fiery resolve defends?

[Walküre]

A Hue of Sadness


A hue of sadness for the final tale, as a word of caution for the wise listener of these words,
In the midst of jubilation and joy for the victory of whom for liberty had fought, one the other facet of reality should not indeed ignore,
For Men may rejoice at their triumph and at the reunited kingdom which newly light saw,
But the Elven kind knew very well what many for long time had been in silence murmuring,

That the Immortals' staying on the continent without a price was not, a toll which even victory demanded,
Waning and slow decay the Eldar would have awaited,
Alongside their splendid arts perishing, with their resilient realms under the trees or in the valley being doomed to follow the path of vanishing,
In tears, dismay and profound sorrow for the bitter conclusion,

Therefore, the Eldar of noble lineage thus the way of departure were ready to tread,
The Lady had left her realm and under the stars of the night through fields and plains she had ridden, wearing Nenya on her finger, depleted yet bright still in the absence of light,
As well as the Lord of the homely shelter beside the mountains, willing to be finally parted from the World and his love beyond the sea again to behold,
Weary and in sad sacredness, silent they journeyed to the Havens and from Middle-earth for the eternal bliss they eventually sailed.

[Walküre]

Relief and comfort within the stone


In centuries these ramparts and hard walls of stone have been our sole defence,
For us, loose and often lone people of the desolate heath,
But also proud and much used to the harsh existence and of winter the crude touch,
Free we have always ridden, naught our path opposing, nor did our horses ever fail our command, fast and smooth across the fields,

In times, however, great necessity made it so that the defence of walls we had to use,
To fend off invasions and of aggressive hordes to halt the violent impetus,
The indomitable Horse Lords shall thus rely on their last bastion, pillars of the realm and for Middle-earth as a whole,
It is here, let us pray, that the arts of the treachery wizard shall find the bravest opponent, hoping that other auxiliaries might come for our aid, by the wise counsel of another mage guided.

[Walküre]

The Plea

Eärendil begs the Powers to intervene.


Powers, mighty and fallacious in no case, ye should head thither and end of our pain the old root,
The venom that always the green garden of Arda hath poisoned and marred,
Both kinds request your coming at the last hour for the Light,
Lest the whole continent sink and drown in the abyss of darkness, erasing love, memory and gentleness of noble kind, which is the mysterious flame that all nourisheth and from mournful withering preventeth.

[Walküre]

The Uncanny Gift


How could death ever be named a gift? The parting of your spirit and the profound grief of whom shall remain behind,
A curse it instead seems to be, plaguing mankind since the ancestral time,
As if the snares of the Evil were not enough, with violence, brutal force and terrible slaughter of an unspeakable kind,
Yet the Eldar insist, that the fortune of our being at the last moment we shall grasp, when our breath of life the ramparts of Eä leave, to the mysterious destination in glory headed.

[Walküre]

Woes to whom forsweareth their judgement


Woes to whom forsweareth their judgment, of the Powers who beyond the sea shall forever endure,
Their wisdom by the common standards may not be measured, being their nature holy and their will wholly pure.

[Walküre]

Talent needeth nourishment and much care

An old Elven saying.


Thou, who livest merry in the solace of thy skilful arts,
Thou content of thy talent ought not to be,
For the hues of one's soul need care and often be nourished,
Not to talk about ill fortune, since many might see with envious eyes and thy path through snares they might hinder.

[Walküre]

The Champion


Fierce his spirit, undaunted the sacrifice,
Of whom from the skies at last descended and the Evil Flame battled and triumphantly vanquished.

Of the Powers he is the Champion, whose might forever the Enemy shall dread.

[Walküre]

Cheer and at life rejoice


Cheer and at life rejoice, this sunny path we shall fain tread,
For the fortunes and fate of Dwarves mournful might be, but never grief nor dismay our hearts of stone shall completely conquer.

[Walküre]

Our Bounden Duty


Our bounden duty? Is this what you ask, my Lord?
We must repel the menace and the peril outlive, riding fast towards the White Towers of the South,
Friendship there us awaits, and honour, valour and anything which the warrior's heart with glory rekindles,
Let us fulfil the pledge and battle for the sake of Men in the last mighty conflict, unto end and ruin for our soul and feeble body of matter.


'White Towers' is a rhetorical figure. It is a part of a whole concept, used to refer to the entire totality. In this case, the white towers the knight of Rohan is talking about are the white towers and walls of the White City of Gondor.

[Walküre]

It doth make a difference


My Lady, I doubt whether my spirit by courage could ever be lit,
For I am simple and much the joys of life fancy, instead of a grand quest, noble armies and bloody battles.

Peregrin Took, more inside thee thou in truth hast, and even the little doth often make the difference, when true courage and love thy deeds command.