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sally_mariaI'm afraid I'm going to cheat and pick 2 songs for this, or rather a song and a hymn.
As a Tolkien fan, I can think of few songs more suitable for a farewell than Bilbo's Last Song, preferably sung by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gayalondiel, but in her absence I really liked this version which I found on YouTube
Bilbo's Last Song, sung by Joshua Burnell
Bilbo's Last Song by JRR Tolkien
Day is ended, dim my eyes,
but journey long before me lies.
Farewell, friends! I hear the call.
The ship’s beside the stony wall.
Foam is white and waves are grey;
beyond the sunset leads my way.
Foam is salt, the wind is free;
I hear the rising of the Sea.
Farewell, friends! The sails are set,
the wind is east, the moorings fret.
Shadows long before me lie,
beneath the ever-bending sky,
but islands lie behind the Sun
that I shall raise ere all is done;
lands there are to west of West,
where night is quiet and sleep is rest.
Guided by the Lonely Star,
beyond the utmost harbour-bar,
I’ll find the havens fair and free,
and beaches of the Starlit Sea.
Ship, my ship! I seek the West,
and fields and mountains ever blest.
Farewell to Middle-earth at last.
I see the Star above my mast!
It sounds wrong to say you have a favourite funeral hymn, but Abide With Me is definitely mine. It has just the right level of melancholy and comfort, and the tune can take a variety of moods. This is from the London Olympics opening ceremony, the beautiful solo version sung by Emelie Sande, which still sends shivers down my spine whenever I hear it.
Abide With Me, sung by Emelie Sande
Abide With Me
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
As a Tolkien fan, I can think of few songs more suitable for a farewell than Bilbo's Last Song, preferably sung by
gayalondiel, but in her absence I really liked this version which I found on YouTubeBilbo's Last Song, sung by Joshua Burnell
Bilbo's Last Song by JRR Tolkien
Day is ended, dim my eyes,
but journey long before me lies.
Farewell, friends! I hear the call.
The ship’s beside the stony wall.
Foam is white and waves are grey;
beyond the sunset leads my way.
Foam is salt, the wind is free;
I hear the rising of the Sea.
Farewell, friends! The sails are set,
the wind is east, the moorings fret.
Shadows long before me lie,
beneath the ever-bending sky,
but islands lie behind the Sun
that I shall raise ere all is done;
lands there are to west of West,
where night is quiet and sleep is rest.
Guided by the Lonely Star,
beyond the utmost harbour-bar,
I’ll find the havens fair and free,
and beaches of the Starlit Sea.
Ship, my ship! I seek the West,
and fields and mountains ever blest.
Farewell to Middle-earth at last.
I see the Star above my mast!
It sounds wrong to say you have a favourite funeral hymn, but Abide With Me is definitely mine. It has just the right level of melancholy and comfort, and the tune can take a variety of moods. This is from the London Olympics opening ceremony, the beautiful solo version sung by Emelie Sande, which still sends shivers down my spine whenever I hear it.
Abide With Me, sung by Emelie Sande
Abide With Me
Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.
I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.
I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.
Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
no subject
Date: 2014-04-25 08:03 pm (UTC)I don't know if you've come across them before, but that's actually Donald Swann's setting of Bilbo's Last Song - he wrote music for a number of poems from Lord of the Rings.