Walking-songs

Walking-songs were short songs in the Shire listed alongside bed-songs and supper-songs. These songs were commonly hummed by Shire-folk at night while walking towards their home.The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book One, Chapter III: "Three is Company"
Bilbo's specific walking-song was included as the second song of the song cycle by Donald Swann, where it was referred to as Upon the Hearth the Fire is Red.The Road Goes Ever On: A Song Cycle, song 2: "Upon the Hearth the Fire is Red", pg. 4 It is also included as part of the CD that accompanied the latest edition.
==History==
The words of one walking-song in particular were written down by Bilbo Baggins when he put it to a tune "as old as the hills".
On September 24 in TA 3018, Bilbo's walking-song was sung by Frodo Baggins, Peregrin Took, and Samwise Gamgee while they were hiking through the Woody End:
:Upon the hearth the fire is red,
:Beneath the roof there is a bed;
:But not yet weary are our feet,
:Still round the corner we may meet
:A sudden tree or standing stone
:That none have seen but we alone.
::Tree and flower and leaf and grass,
::Let them pass! Let them pass!
::Hill and water under sky,
::Pass them by! Pass them by!
:Still round the corner there may wait
:A new road or a secret gate,
:And though we pass them by today,
:Tomorrow we may come this way
:And take the hidden paths that run
:Towards the Moon or to the Sun.
::Apple, thorn, and nut and sloe,
::Let them go! Let them go!
::Sand and stone and pool and dell,
::Fare you well! Fare you well!
:Home is behind, the world ahead,
:And there are many paths to tread
:Through shadows to the edge of night,
:Until the stars are all alight.
:The world behind and home ahead,
:We'll wander back to home and bed.
::Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
::Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
::Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,
::And then to bed! And then to bed!
After the end of the song, Pippin revised the final line, re-singing it to match his desire for rest since he was tired: "And now to bed! And now to bed!" He was told by Frodo to be quiet when they heard an approaching sound of hoofs.
 
On September 22 in TA 3021, Frodo softly sung an altered version of Bilbo's walking-song when he rode with Sam through the Shire towards the west before meeting Elrond, Galadriel, Gildor and many other Elves that were headed to the Grey Havens, where they would set sail to the Undying Lands:The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Chapter IX: "The Grey Havens"
:Still round the corner there may wait
:A new road or a secret gate;
:And though I oft have passed them by,
:A day will come at last when I
:Shall take the hidden paths that run
:West of the Moon, East of the Sun.
==In adaptations==
=== The Lord of the Rings film trilogy===
Despite being omitted from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, an alternative version was written for Pippin to sing to Denethor in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, when Faramir was riding with his company to Osgiliath. This song was referred to in the soundtrack as "The Edge of Night" in the Complete Recordings.
:Home is behind
:The world ahead
:And there are many paths to tread
:Through shadow
:To the edge of night
:Until the stars are all alight
:Mist and shadow
:Cloud and shade
:All shall fade
:All shall
:Fade
==References==
uk:Ночі край
Category:Songs and verses
Category:Poems in The Fellowship of the Ring
Category:Soundtrack lyrics