The Ballad of Elendil and Isildur

A lullaby of Gondor, sung over the centuries, and brought to the Shire by Thain Peregrin I after his travels in the South. While not a song that hobbits would sing, it must be remembered that training those who lived in Gondor, besieged by the Dark Lord for centuries, started as early as the singing of cradle songs. [If it seems a bit repetitious, just remember that the purpose of a lullaby is to put little ones to sleep, and think upon a typical Shire lullaby, such as the Leaf Song, or the Night Wind Song, equally repetitious, though dealing with pleasant and practical matters.]

1. Gil-galad and Elendil
Marched their armies up the hill
To meet the Dark Lord face to face,
And cast him down from his high place.

The thunder boomed and the lightning flashed
As on the battlefield the armies clashed.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

2. The thunder boomed and the lightning flashed
As on the battlefield the armies clashed.
As Elendil raised his sword on high,
The soldiers drew their swords and gave the cry.

Through the air elven arrows flew,
Orc and troll and man they slew.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

3. Through the air elven arrows flew,
Orc and troll and man they slew.
The archers aimed their arrows high
And sent them bolting through the sky.

The Dark Lord raised his hand in spell;
On the battlefield the Elf Lord fell.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

4. The Dark Lord raised his hand in spell;
On the battlefield the Elf Lord fell.
The Dark Lord strode to Elendil,
Spilling his blood upon the hill.

The sky grew dark with increasing gloom,
As the soldiers rallied to meet their doom.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

5. The sky grew dark with increasing gloom,
As the soldiers rallied to meet their doom.
Isildur took his father's sword.
He did battle with the dreadful Lord,

With the fighting raging all around
And his father dying upon the ground.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

6. With the fighting raging all around
And his father dying upon the ground,
His soldiers rallied and did their best
While round about them the dark host pressed.

Isildur raised his father's sword,
Shouting defiance at the grim Dark Lord.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

7. Isildur raised his father's sword,
Shouting defiance at the grim Dark Lord.
In the face of death he raised his hand,
And banished the Darkness from the Western lands.

If men in peace would seek to live,
They must stand ever ready their lives to give.
If men had let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

If men in peace would seek to live,
They must stand ever ready their lives to give.
If men would let their duty go,
The Dark would have taken Gondor long ago...

For the tune, click here: Music

[A/N Please remember that this music is protected by copyright law.]