12 Days of Christmas revisited
rasqual
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.tolkien/browse_thread/thread/67bd31feae68af68?ie=UTF-8
Any new ideas five years later?
Troels Forchhammer
<1df6a490-0238-4a45...@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com>
rasqual <scott.m...@gmail.com> spoke these staves:
>
> From here:
> http://groups.google.com/group/alt.fan.tolkien/browse_thread/thread
> /67bd31feae68af68?ie=UTF-8
> Any new ideas five years later?
Good idea! Let's see what we can do.
Personally I'd strengthen the theme and use Tolkienian numbers as far
as possible. Most numbers were used more than once, so feel free to
pick and choose and add whatever is needed to make your own favourite
;-)
1: The One that is precious to me (with thanks to Ken and Hasan)
Dark Lord on his Dark Throne
One that is the Father of All
2: Towers tall (thanks to Hasan)
Trees so bright
3: Elf Rings
Elf tribes
4: Shire Farthings
Hobbits leaving
free old peoples
Books by Baggins [1]
5: Wizards' rods
Istari
shapes at night
6: Meals per day
Ponies trotting
thousand riders
7: Stones a-seeing
Dwarves a-hoarding
times the mayor
8: Mounds in Rohan
fleeing Moria
mighty Valar [2]
9: Nazgűl riding (used in several variants in the 2003 version)
Riders searching
Ships a-fleeing
10: times outnumbered
leagues of Rammas
thousands uruks
11: -ty and one year
12: Shirrifs warding
Dwarves with Thorin
Dozen hobbits
Silver pennies (the price for Bill the Pony)
Guards for Théoden
Can anyone think of a clever way to include the twelve Houses of
Gondolin? I can't think of a wording that will match the metre (lines
with Turgon?).
[1] It's a little strained, perhaps, since it was Bilbo's three
translations from Elvish plus his diary which Frodo turned into
the account of the War of the Ring
[2] There were fourteen Valar all told, but eight that were' of chief
power and reverence' after Melkor had been removed
What about other Christmas carols -- I seem to remember that we've
tried a few times before, and perhaps it's time to dust them off again?
Anyone who'd put a text to 'Mithrandir is coming to town?' Or what
about 'Billy the faithful pony'?
Silent night, fear-fill'd night
shadows fill the dell with fright
Five shapes appearing like holes in the dark
The terror that quenches the valorous spark
Shaking in unholy fear
shaking in unholy fear
--
Troels Forchhammer
Valid e-mail is <troelsfo(a)gmail.com>
Please put [AFT], [RABT] or 'Tolkien' in subject.
Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does
knowledge.
- Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882)
Troels Forchhammer
<1df6a490-0238-4a45...@g1g2000pra.googlegroups.com>
rasqual <scott.m...@gmail.com> spoke these staves:
>
<snip>
> Any new ideas five years later?
I managed to get a few more stanzas into the Silent night thing I
started in the previous post:
Silent night, fear-fill'd night
shadows fill the dell with fright
Five shapes appearing like holes in the dark
The terror that quenches the valorous spark
Shaking in unholy fear
shaking in unholy fear
Silent night, fear-fill'd night
Sam he cowers at Frodo's right
Merry and Pippin are flat on the ground
Frodo's will to the Ring has been bound
Fearing the knife in the dark
fearing the knife in the dark
Silent night, fear-fill'd night
Frodo vanishes from sight
A dark shape leaps at the hobbit unseen
in wraith-world all is clear of the scene
The bearer revealed to their eyes
the bearer revealed to their eyes
Silent night, fear-fill'd night
Witch-king jumps to Frodo's side
Two blades stab at their targets that dread
Glowing of magic with pale and with red
A cloak and a shoulder are hit
a cloak and a shoulder are hit
Silent night, fear-fill'd night
The Ranger jumps with fire'n light
Faced with will and with Elbereth's name
the Witch-king quickly surrenders the game
Fearless was night under stars
Fearless was night under stars
I'm afraid that I'm stretching the metric a bit here and there, but
it'll have to stand as it is, or I shall have no sleep tonight ;-)
Oh, and happy new year in the Shire Calendar.
--
Troels Forchhammer
Valid e-mail is <troelsfo(a)gmail.com>
Please put [AFT], [RABT] or 'Tolkien' in subject.
Original thought
is a straightforward process.
It's easy enough
when you know what to do.
You simply combine
in appropriate doses
the blatantly false
and the patently true.
- Piet Hein, /Originality/h