Music and song are some of the most important elements in Tolkien’s books. This aspect has been translated into the Peter Jackson film adaptations of both the Lord of the Rings and the hobbit, in various forms. It seems like Rings of Power will follow in the same footsteps, with the latest episode bringing Poppy the Harfoot’s “Walking Song” to the screen.
One of the most impressive moments in cinema history is Pippin’s Song, in which Faramir leads the soldiers of Gondor to reclaim Osgiliath and the Misty Mountains, which tells the terrible fate of Smaug’s abandonment of Erebor. Poppy’s song has that same sense of gravitas, as it tells a story of staying brave and faithful despite real hardships. In fact, in many ways the song’s lyrics tell the fate of what’s going to happen in Middle Earth in the next era of the world.
All the great stories in Middle Earth are about travel. It is about long roads that take the protagonists far from home, creating a personal and spiritual journey in their hearts along the way. Poppy’s song also describes the same long journey, shown on the map as they travel through Weedbrook, the Undercliffs, to the Gray Swamps and beyond. But it is the emotional passage of the characters that is at the heart of the words. This is emphasized by the scenes of tragedy and struggle around them.
For example, the characters push their cart through thick slime where a previous cart is wrecked. This means lost harfoots, people who were once related, who died in this place when they fell behind. There are also poignant scenes of the harfoots huddled in the heat in their own cart, laughing and passing around hot drinks to avert the bitter rain and wind outside. Meanwhile, the meteor’s stranger watches them lonely. In addition to these strong images, texts like “The sun is fast fall” describe the light that is disappearing from the world at that moment, and the growing darkness of Sauron and his orcs.
The beginning of the song references “The light in the tower.” This may refer to one of the towers canonically famous in Tolkien’s works, from the tower of Orthanc is Isengard, to the tower of Minas Morgul on the outskirts of Mordor. It could refer to the towers shown in recent episodes of Rings of Power, including the watchtower of the elves in the Southlands, or the tower that Queen Miriel de Palantir looks into in Numenor. And as the lyrics of Poppy’s song grow, they become more and more reminiscent of the major events that the audience has seen unfold during the Lord of the Rings and The hobbit. They become more and more emblematic of the paths that the most beloved characters in these books must take.
For example, consider the text “Beyond eyes of pale fire, black sand for my bed, I trade all I’ve known for the unknown that lies before me” in the first verse of the song. This line conjures up images of Frodo and Sam, and their struggle to sneak into Mordor under the Eye of Sauron. During this difficult part of their quest, they do just that. Sleeping in the rubble of the barren wasteland of Mordor, they have left behind everything they know and love about the Shire. The fate of the world is in their hands, and they must leave the land where their hearts belong to protect it. During this journey, there is bitter darkness and pain for every member of the stake community that they must rise above.
The same goes for every member of Thorin’s company in the hobbit; in fact, for every hero in Tolkien’s world. It means persevering when an ounce of their being wants to stop and leave the task to someone else to complete. Poppy’s line “My power says no, but the path demands yes” speaks to anyone who has ever faced challenges that seem impossible, “No matter the grief, no matter the cost.”
When the world is in danger at the hands of an evil master like Sauron and his rings of power, the heroes must be resilient and courageous, despite wanting to return to every fiber of their being. The last words of the song are:
“At last comes their answer, to cold and frost, that not all who wander in wonder perish.”
These will be the words Gandalf later repeats to Frodo and Bilbo in their most desperate times. These words will help them keep their hopes alive and remind them of the reasons why they embarked on their important quests in the first place.
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