Magic is might and burden
GALADRIEL: Dismay and sorrow I have come to know,
Stain on glory, prowess, fall and triumph,
I drank from the cordial of grief in equal manner,
Sour taste, one that mars and stirs discord,
One that tears good apart and sows evil,
It stole the light of the Eternal Day,
Under whose rays I was born,
Within the sunny country of the Archangels,
This is ancestral lore of Arda, unknown to the most,
The witless mind would lose itself in such mazes, before such portrait.
Choir of Elves: Injustice and menace,
Curses and sins,
Clear from any plague,
In the land of Lórien,
Where naught decays.
G: To the shores of the suffering,
Grey shelter,
Cold harbour for the exiled,
Action was not possible without a toll,
To detach from the bliss,
To disobey divine wisdom,
We had to chase our foe,
Unto the ends of the world,
Retribution we needed and yearned,
My beloved ones, whom in great affection hold, did not last to see the end of the strife.
Choir: Alas, many woes and terrible loss,
She mourned, in centuries,
Borne with unfaltering defiance,
She hopes,
Her they await across the sea.
G: There, I met also love,
Attending the court of a thousand-year kingdom,
Greeted by the Silver Monarch,
One of those princes was to be my fate,
Together, we would go through the tides of the ages,
All was bound to perish, however,
Those jewels of incredible potency,
From whence all had beginning,
Brought about ruin and flames,
To my majestic mentor, of the kind of the Angels from paradise, farewell I bade.
Choir: War of wrath and justice,
The West such plight forsook not,
The emissary spoke at the behest of the two kinds,
A holy host sailed from the realm of the Powers,
Aid was given and for the Iron Crown was tragic epilogue.
G: Malice was not late to return,
One of the devils of the first Dark Lord,
Versed in treachery and illusion,
Minds he trapped in his snare,
A one-time empire crumbled overnight, for the pride emperor longed for the endless life under the heavens of Eä,
The earth was broken and shaped anew,
The nightmare of the tale had crafted artefacts of doom,
Rings of Power to be gifted to each lord and people,
The Eldar were sole and lone, seeing past the demon's true will,
The others understood not, seeking fame and rule, destined to turn into chained slaves.
Choir: For the sake of all,
Three Rings saw light without the atavistic vice,
Secure and sound in the hands of the Wise,
A last alliance was made, to undo the yoke of darkness,
The High King found sad demise and the line of Númenor wept its king.
G: Middle-earth lies not,
At the twilight of the third era,
Much has changed and shadows awaken from unseen pits,
Battle ignites a soil grown used to peace,
It is the closing chapter, as marvel from reality fades and vanishes,
The One Ring was retrieved from water and its master wants his craft back,
The wellness of the Golden Wood might be to cease, be it triumph or defeat,
Pray, may the valour of our bows be enough for the task,
But the shield of Lothlórien is me and I am its walls, not willing to give our green temple away,
Fool adversary, magic is might, and should you try to play with the arcane arts, I shall give minstrels much to sing about in epic lays.