Tolkien Songs by Colin Rudd

So there's this bloke with a guitar and a webcam. He does straight versions – no parody, no funny effects – of songs from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In a few cases they are just sound playing against a black screen.

It's a shame about his politics, he has a song up in honour of Fidel Castro for crying out loud! The songs are reminiscent of the style of acoustic Led Zeppelin, or the Vagabond Crew song "I Was Only 19". Better than a ropy adaptation of a phrase from one of Tolkien's letters.

First up the one I found in a post on TheOneRing.Net which led me to the rest. The "Lament for Boromir" from The Two Towers book I, chapter 1 "The Departure of Boromir".




"The Walking Song" from Chapter 3 of Book I of The Fellowship of the Ring, "Three is Company". Lines from the last stanza found their way into Pippin's song for Denethor in the film of The Return of the King.




"The Tale of Tinúviel" from chapter 11 of Book I of The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Knife in the Dark". In the film, Peter Jackson had Aragorn sing a line or too in Elvish in a scene in the Midgewater Marshes rather than on Weathertop (funny that, in the book the song is complete and in English).




Gimli's "Song of Durin" from chapter 4 of Book II of The Fellowship of the Ring, "A Journey in the Dark".





Frodo's "Lament for Gandalf" from chapter 7 of Book II of The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Mirror of Galadriel". Only Sam's characteristic addition (not here) is found in the film. The last stanza (from 2:32) still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.




"The Song of the Ent and the Entwives" from Chapter 5 of Book I of The Two Towers, "Treebeard". If you imagine Treebeard as like Prince Herbert in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, then this song fits perfectly.




Next some songs from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

Number 4: "Princess Mee".




Number 9: "The Mewlips".





Number 14 "The Hoard".




Finally, he has set to music the early poem "The Little House of Lost Play" from the end of chapter 1 of The Book of Lost Tales Volume 1, "The Cottage of Lost Play". This is the beginning of the long series of books, edited by Tolkien's son, covering the history of the creation of Middle Earth. At this stage, the stories that would become The Silmarillion were told within a framing narrative as the first Englishman visits the Elves. The fey style of the guitar and strings suits Tolkien's writings from this period.