View source for I Sit beside the Fire and Think

{{unnamed}}
[[File:Jake Murray - Fireside Song.jpg|thumb|300px|right|"Fireside Song" by [[:Category:Images by Jake Murray|Jake Murray]]]]
'''I Sit beside the Fire and Think''' is a song by [[Bilbo Baggins]], which he sang softly in [[Rivendell]] on [[24 December]] {{TA|3018}},<ref>{{App|Great}}</ref> the evening before the [[Fellowship of the Ring]] set out upon their quest. Bilbo sang the song in the presence of [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]], after giving Frodo the [[Mithril-coat]] and [[Sting]].<ref>{{FR|II3}}</ref> The song is a contemplative piece, sung by a now-aging hobbit recalling past events that ends in anticipation of hearing returning friends.
==Lyrics==
<poem style="font-style:italic;margin-left:20px;">
I sit beside the fire and think
of all that I have seen
of meadow-flowers and butterflies
in summers that have been;
 
Of yellow leaves and gossamer
in autumns that there were,
with morning mist and silver sun
and wind upon my hair.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of how the world will be
when winter comes without a spring
that I shall ever see.
 
For still there are so many things
that I have never seen:
in every wood in every spring
there is a different green.
 
I sit beside the fire and think
of people long ago
and people who will see a world
that I shall never know.
 
But all the while I sit and think
of times there were before,
I listen for returning feet
and voices at the door.
</poem>

==Legacy==
[[Donald Swann]] wrote music for this song, which can be found in the book ''[[The Road Goes Ever On (book)|The Road Goes Ever On]]'';<ref>{{RGEO|Sit}}</ref> it is also found on the accompanying CD of the latest version.

[[Summoning]] used the poem for lyrics in a song called "A Distant Flame Before The Sun", from the [[1999]] album ''[[Stronghold]]''.

Inspired by this poem, [[Burzum (band)|Burzum]] wrote the lyrics of the song "Beholding the Daughters of the Firmament".

[[Clamavi De Profundis]] wrote music for this song and released it as a memorial for Christopher Tolkien.

==Portrayal in adaptations==
'''1978: [[The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)|''The Lord of the Rings'' (1978 film)]]:'''
:After [[Bilbo Baggins|Bilbo]] farewells [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] from [[Rivendell]], he recites the first two lines of the poem.

'''2004: [[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (extended edition)|''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (extended edition)]]:'''
:A translation of this song, with [[Neo-Elvish|Neo-Sindarin]] lyrics by [[David Salo]] and melody by [[Howard Shore]], is heard in the Fan Credits.<ref>{{Cite web |author=|articleurl=http://www.amagpiesnest.com/source_songs/ROTK/SSbilbos_song.htm|articlename=Bilbo's Song|website=[http://www.amagpiesnest.com/ A Magpie's Nest.com]|accessed=9 July 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201225045313/http://www.amagpiesnest.com/source_songs/ROTK/SSbilbos_song.htm |archivedate=25 December 2020 }}</ref>
 
==See also==
*[[Poems in The Lord of the Rings|Poems in ''The Lord of the Rings'']]

{{References}}
[[Category:Poems in The Fellowship of the Ring]]
[[Category:Songs]]