The Road Goes Ever On

From Wacklepedia - The Free Encyclopedia

The Road Goes Ever On contains sheet music first published in 1967 for poetry presented by Tolkien in his literature that involves Middle-earth. Although the book can at first sight seem mostly useful by musicians (particularly piano and guitar players), it has been found to have a wider use than this. By readers to understand the cultures of the various mythological beings presented in Middle-earth better, and by linguists to analyze Tolkien's poetry. It for example contains one of the longest samples of the language Quenya.

The title of this book comes from the song with the same name, where verses of it are sung at various places in The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Parts of it are also sung in the movie Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by Gandalf in the opening scene, and also as Bilbo leaves Bag End.

The second edition of The Road Goes Ever On, published in 1978, included the poem Bilbo's Last Song.

The third edition of The Road Goes Ever On, published in 1993 and likely the last, comes with additional poetry and also a CD with recordings for the entire song cycle.