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{{book|
{{disambig-more|The Road Goes Ever On|[[The Road Goes Ever On (disambiguation)]]}}{{book
image=[[Image:The Road Goes Ever On (2002).gif|250px]]|
| image=[[Image:The Road Goes Ever On (1968).jpg|225px]]
title=The Road Goes Ever On (3rd edition)|
| title=The Road Goes Ever On:<br><small>A Song Cycle</small>
author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]] and [[Donald Swann]]|
| author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[Donald Swann]] (music)
isbn=0007136552|
| illustrator=J.R.R. Tolkien, Samuel Hanks Bryant
publisher=[[HarperCollins]]|
| publisherUK=[[George Allen and Unwin]]
date=[[1967]]|
| publisherUS=[[Houghton Mifflin]]
format=Hardcover|
| date=[[31 October]] [[1967]] (US)<br>[[1968]] (UK)
pages= 84|
| format=Hardcover; paperback
amazon=http://www.amazon.com/Road-Goes-Ever-J-Tolkien/dp/0007136552/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1200335750&sr=8-1|
| pages=80
amazonprice=$31.29
| isbn=0047840099
}}
}}


'''The Road Goes Ever On''' is a collection of sheet music by [[Donald Swann]] for poetry presented by Tolkien in his [[Middle-earth]] literature. It was first published in 1967.
'''''The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle''''' is a book of sheet music, poems by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], music by [[Donald Swann]].


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, allowing readers to understand the cultures of the various mythological beings presented in Middle-earth better, and helping linguists analyse Tolkien's poetry. For example, it contains one of the longest samples of the language [[Quenya]].
The first edition was published in [[1967]], which contains six poems from ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and one from ''[[The Adventures of Tom Bombadil]]''. It also contains notes on and translations of two Elvish text: "''[[Namárië]]''" and "''[[A Elbereth Gilthoniel]]''", for which reason it is an important document concerning the "glossary and lore of [[Elvish]]".<ref>Quote from the cover of the Third Edition.</ref>


==Songs==
A recording of the music, with [[William Elvin]] as vocalist, appeared under the title ''[[Poems and Songs of Middle Earth]]'' (1967). This record also contains readings from ''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'' by J.R.R. Tolkien.
* [[The Road Goes Ever On (song)|The Road Goes Ever On]]
* [[Upon the hearth the fire is red]]
* [[In the willow-meads of Tasarinan]]
* [[In western lands]]
* [[Namárië]]
* [[I sit beside the fire]]
* [[A Elbereth Gilthoniel]]
* [[Errantry]]
* [[Bilbo's Last Song]]
* [[Lúthien Tinúviel (song)|Lúthien Tinúviel]]


==Editions==
==Overview==
===1st===
[[File:The Road Goes Ever On tailpiece.jpg|thumb|center|400px|One of Tolkien's decorative tailpieces created for the book]]
[[Image:The Road Goes Ever On (1968).gif|right|150px]]
This book has been valued even by those uninterested in music, since it helps Tolkien's readers to better understand the cultures of the various mythological beings presented in [[Middle-earth]], and helps linguists analyse Tolkien's poetry. As well as the poems, notes, and translations, Tolkien contributed decorations in the form of [[Elvish]] script for the top and bottom of every page of sheet music, and tailpieces for the spaces at the ends of the poems.
''The Road Goes Ever On'' was first published on [[October 31]], [[1967]] by [[Allen and Unwin|George Allen & Unwin]].
* ISBN 0047840099 (from the 3rd impression)
* Hardback with dustwrapper
* Illustrated by J.R.R. Tolkien and [[Samuel Hanks Bryant]].
* Includes music for seven poems: The Road Goes Ever On, Upon the Hearth the Fire is Red, In the Willow-meads of Tasarinan, In Western Lands, Namárië, I Sit Beside the Fire and Errantry.
* Includes translations of Namárië and A Elbereth Gilthoniel with commentary.
* Impressions
** 1st - 1968
** 2nd - 1969
** 3rd - 1972
** 4th - 1974
* Published in the United States by [[Houghton Mifflin]] in [[1967]].


===2nd===
The book contains one of the longest samples of the language [[Quenya]], in the shape of the song "''[[Namárië]]''" (which appears on the cover in [[Tengwar]]), as well as the Sindarin prayer "''[[A Elbereth Gilthoniel]]''" with grammatical explanations. Tolkien's notes in the book provide information about the [[First Age]] of Middle-earth that was not otherwise publicly available until the publication of ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.<ref>{{HM|A}}Robert Foster, ''[[A Guide to Middle-earth]]''</ref>
[[Image:The Road Goes Ever On (1978).gif|right|150px]]
The 2nd edition was published in 1978 by George Allen and Unwin.
* ISBN 0047840110
* Includes all the poems from the first edition, as well as [[Bilbo's Last Song]].
{{clear}}


===3rd===
==Contents==
[[Image:The Road Goes Ever On (2002).gif|right|150px]]
;List of Songs
The 3rd edition was published in 1993 by HarperCollins.
* ISBN 0007136552
* Hardback in dustwrapper.
* Includes all the poems from the first edition, as well as Lúthien Tinúviel (first published in The Songs of Donald Swann: Volume I)
* Includes a CD with The Road Goes Ever On song cycle performed by Donald Swann, [[William Elvin]] and Clive McCrombie.
* Reprinted in 2002 as a hardcover by [[HarperCollins]]
* Canadian version issued with titling and style similar to the 1st and 2nd editions.


[[Category:Books]]
;Included in the First Edition of the book (1967)
 
*[[The Road Goes Ever On (song)|The Road Goes Ever On]]
**(''LotR'', Book 1, chapter 1 "A Long-expected Party", chapter 3 "Three is Company")
*[[Upon The Hearth The Fire Is Red|Upon the Hearth the Fire is Fed]]
**(''LotR'', Book 1, chapter 3 "Three is Company")
*[[In The Willow-meads Of Tasarinan|In the Willow-meads of Tasarinan]]
**(''LotR'', Book 3, chapter 4 "Treebeard")
*[[In western lands beneath the Sun|In Western Lands]]
**(''LotR'', Book 6, chapter 1 "The Tower of Cirith Ungol")
*[[Namárië]]
**(''LotR'', Book 2, chapter 8 "Farewell to Lórien")
*[[I sit beside the fire and think|I Sit Beside the Fire]]
**(''LotR'', Book 2, chapter 3 "The Ring Goes South")
*[[Errantry]]
**(''The Adventures of Tom Bombadil'')
 
;Added in the Second Edition (1978)
 
*[[Bilbo's Last Song|Bilbo's Last Song (At the Grey Havens)]]
**(Given to Tolkien's secretary, [[Margaret  Joy Hill]])
 
;Added in the Third Edition (2002)
 
*[[A Elbereth Gilthoniel]] (continues "I Sit Beside the Fire")
**(''LotR'', Book 2, chapter 1 "Many Meetings")
*[[Lúthien Tinúviel (song)|Lúthien Tinúviel]]
**(''The Silmarillion'', chapter 19 "Of Beren and Lúthien")
 
A CD record is included with this edition. It contains the musical recordings from ''Poems and Songs of Middle Earth'' as well as recordings of the songs added to the second and third editions.
 
;Notes and Translations
*''[[Namárië]]''
*''[[A Elbereth Gilthoniel]]''
 
==Publication history and gallery==
{{Gallery
|width=128
|height=125
|lines=2
|File:The Road Goes Ever On (1968).jpg|1967 first edition
|File:The Road Goes Ever On (1978).gif|1978 second edition
|File:The Road Goes Ever On (2002).gif‎|2002 third edition
}}
* [[George Allen and Unwin]] hardcover ([[1967]]), pp. 80. ISBN 0047840099
* [[George Allen and Unwin]] hardcover ([[1978]]), ISBN 0047840110
* [[HarperCollins]] hardcover ([[2002]]), pp. 96. ISBN 0007136552
 
''The Road Goes Ever On'' had also been published by [[Ballantine Books]]. A jacketless hardcover edition in October [[1968]], and a paperback edition in August [[1975]].<ref>{{webcite|author=[[Douglas A. Anderson]]|articleurl=http://tolkienandfantasy.blogspot.com/2021/05/ballantines-road-goes-ever-on.html|articlename=Ballantine's Road Goes Ever On: Bibliographers Off by a Year!|dated=31 May 2021|website= http://tolkienandfantasy.blogspot.com/|accessed=2 June 2021}}</ref>
 
{{Gallery
|width=128
|height=125
|lines=2
|File:Goes Ever On Ballantines Hardcover.jpeg|Ballantine 1968 hardcover
|File:Goes Ever On Ballantines Paperback.jpeg|Ballantine 1975 paperback
}}
* [[Ballantine Books]] hardcover ([[1968]]), pp. 80. PBN 74550
* [[Ballantine Books]] paperback ([[1975]]), ISBN 0345247337
 
==See also==
*[[Letter to James S. Marsh (29 December 1966)|Letter to James S. Marsh]], where Tolkien showed his plan for the book.
 
{{references}}
{{Publishedmajorbooks}}
{{title|italics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Road Goes Ever On}}
[[Category:Music books]]
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien]]
[[Category:Publications by title|Road Goes Ever On]]

Revision as of 17:32, 24 September 2022

The name The Road Goes Ever On refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see The Road Goes Ever On (disambiguation).
The Road Goes Ever On:
A Song Cycle
The Road Goes Ever On (1968).jpg
AuthorJ.R.R. Tolkien, Donald Swann (music)
IllustratorJ.R.R. Tolkien, Samuel Hanks Bryant
PublisherGeorge Allen and Unwin (UK)
Houghton Mifflin (US)
Released31 October 1967 (US)
1968 (UK)
FormatHardcover; paperback
Pages80
ISBN0047840099

The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle is a book of sheet music, poems by J.R.R. Tolkien, music by Donald Swann.

The first edition was published in 1967, which contains six poems from The Lord of the Rings and one from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. It also contains notes on and translations of two Elvish text: "Namárië" and "A Elbereth Gilthoniel", for which reason it is an important document concerning the "glossary and lore of Elvish".[1]

A recording of the music, with William Elvin as vocalist, appeared under the title Poems and Songs of Middle Earth (1967). This record also contains readings from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Overview

One of Tolkien's decorative tailpieces created for the book

This book has been valued even by those uninterested in music, since it helps Tolkien's readers to better understand the cultures of the various mythological beings presented in Middle-earth, and helps linguists analyse Tolkien's poetry. As well as the poems, notes, and translations, Tolkien contributed decorations in the form of Elvish script for the top and bottom of every page of sheet music, and tailpieces for the spaces at the ends of the poems.

The book contains one of the longest samples of the language Quenya, in the shape of the song "Namárië" (which appears on the cover in Tengwar), as well as the Sindarin prayer "A Elbereth Gilthoniel" with grammatical explanations. Tolkien's notes in the book provide information about the First Age of Middle-earth that was not otherwise publicly available until the publication of The Silmarillion.[2]

Contents

List of Songs
Included in the First Edition of the book (1967)
Added in the Second Edition (1978)
Added in the Third Edition (2002)

A CD record is included with this edition. It contains the musical recordings from Poems and Songs of Middle Earth as well as recordings of the songs added to the second and third editions.

Notes and Translations

Publication history and gallery

1967 first edition  
1978 second edition  
2002 third edition  

The Road Goes Ever On had also been published by Ballantine Books. A jacketless hardcover edition in October 1968, and a paperback edition in August 1975.[3]

Ballantine 1968 hardcover  
Ballantine 1975 paperback  

See also

References

  1. Quote from the cover of the Third Edition.
  2. Robert Foster, A Guide to Middle-earth
  3. Douglas A. Anderson, "Ballantine's Road Goes Ever On: Bibliographers Off by a Year!" dated 31 May 2021, http://tolkienandfantasy.blogspot.com/ (accessed 2 June 2021)
A J.R.R. Tolkien book guide
Books by or mainly by Tolkien
Of Arda Authored by
J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hobbit · The Lord of the Rings
(i.The Fellowship of the Ring · ii.The Two Towers · iii.The Return of the King) ·
The Road Goes Ever On · Bilbo's Last Song
Edited by Christopher Tolkien The Silmarillion · Unfinished Tales · The History of Middle-earth series
(i.The Book of Lost Tales: Part One · ii.The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two · iii.The Lays of Beleriand · iv.The Shaping of Middle-earth · v.The Lost Road and Other Writings · vi.The Return of the Shadow · vii.The Treason of Isengard · viii.The War of the Ring · ix.Sauron Defeated · x.Morgoth's Ring · xi.The War of the Jewels · xii.The Peoples of Middle-earth · Index) ·
The Children of Húrin · Beren and Lúthien · The Fall of Gondolin
Edited by others The Annotated Hobbit · The History of The Hobbit · The Nature of Middle-earth ·
The Fall of Númenor · The Maps of Middle-earth
Not of Arda Short stories
and poems
Leaf by Niggle · Farmer Giles of Ham · Smith of Wootton Major · The Adventures of Tom Bombadil ·
Letters from Father Christmas · Mr. Bliss · Roverandom ·
Tree and Leaf (compilation) · Tales from the Perilous Realm (compilation)
Fictional works The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún · The Fall of Arthur · The Story of Kullervo · The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun
Translations and academic works Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo · Finn and Hengest ·
The Monsters and the Critics, and Other Essays · Beowulf and the Critics · Tolkien On Fairy-stories ·
Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary · A Secret Vice · The Battle of Maldon
Collected letters and poems The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien · The Collected Poems of J.R.R. Tolkien
Edited old texts A Middle English Vocabulary · Sir Gawain and the Green Knight · Ancrene Wisse · The Old English Exodus
Books by other authors
Biographies J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography · The Inklings · Tolkien and the Great War
Reference works The Complete Guide to Middle-earth · The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide
Scholarly studies The Road to Middle-earth · The Keys of Middle-earth · The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion ·
The Ring of Words · A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien · Tolkien's Lost Chaucer ·
Tolkien's Library · Tolkien on Chaucer, 1913-1959
Scholarly journals Tolkien Studies · (The Chronology)
Other works by Tolkien
Linguistic journals Vinyar Tengwar various issues · Parma Eldalamberon issue 11-22
Collections of artwork
and manuscripts
Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien · J.R.R. Tolkien: Life and Legend · J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator ·
The Art of The Hobbit · The Art of The Lord of the Rings · Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth ·
Tolkien: Treasures · J.R.R. Tolkien: The Art of the Manuscript
This list is only a selection of works, for a fuller bibliography of Tolkien see here or here. See also a timeline and an index.