| Poems by J.R.R. Tolkien | |
| "The cold hard lands" | |
|---|---|
| Poem Information | |
| Written | Between 1929 and 1937 |
| Revised | Between 21 September, 1937 and 11 November, 1954 |
| Published | The Two Towers, The War of the Ring, The Annotated Hobbit, The J.R.R. Tolkien Audio Collection, The History of The Hobbit |
| Subject(s) | Fish, Riddle-game |
"The cold hard lands" is the first line of a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien that was sung by Gollum in The Two Towers.[1]
Poem excerpt
The cold hard lands
they bites our hands,
they gnaws our feet.[1]
History
In the year T.A. 2941 of the Third Age,[2] part of the poem was used by Gollum as a riddle when he and Bilbo partook in a Riddle-game:[3]
Alive without breath,
As cold as death,
Never thirsting, ever drinking,
All in mail never clinking.[3]
On 1 March T.A. 3019,[4] Gollum, while guiding Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee through the Dead Marshes, occasionally chuckled or sang portions of the poem. He may have been delighted at the feeling of the water "in the shallow stony stream" his feet splashed in. At one point, Gollum interrupted himself to allude to the Riddle-game many decades before. Gollum's singing caused Samwise to think more pressingly about "the problem of food" and to speculate that Gollum was thinking of this as well.[1]
Other versions of the legendarium
In Tolkien's first draft of the chapter, the first line, "The cold hard lands", is the only part of the poem that remained unaltered.[5]
Portrayal in adaptations
2002: Pán prsteňov:
- Gollum (portrayed by Ibrahim Maiga) sings this ditty during an episode of the second series (season) of the Slovak radio series. The song is accompanied by a nursery rhyme-like melody with some subtle percussions.
2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:
- An alternate version of this song is heard in the forty-second scene when Gollum catches a fish in the Forbidden Pool:
The rock and pool
Is nice and cool,
So juicy-sweet!
Our only wish,
To catch a fish,
So juicy-sweet!
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Passage of the Marshes" pp. 227-8
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Riddles in the Dark"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Two: The Ring Goes East", "II. The Passage of the Marshes"