I'm pretty sure this song is about Aragorn (Strider) and the story is actually only covered in Appendix A of the LOTR. This song recounts a part of Aragorn's life that happened well before the LOTR begins, and just before the events recounted in The Hobbit. The song refers to Aragorn's unexpected re-union with Arwen (daughter of Elrond and Aragorn's true love) in Lothlorien. At the end of this chapter, Aragorn must decide whether to stay in Lothlorien and marry Arwen or leave the forest and pursue Gollum. in the appendiceed story, we learn that, just previously to Aragorn finding Arwen, Gandalf tells Aragorn that Gollum has the ring and is hiding on the outskirts of Mordor. He also tells him that Sauron is also looking for Gollum. He begs Aragorn to find Gollum before Sauron does (neither of them winds up finding Gollum and he escapes to the misty mountains). The lyrics "but gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her" does not mean that they literally kidnapped her, but that his duty to pursue Gollum, and to not let Sauron possess the One Ring, caused him to lose his true love. The choruses in the song also seem to support my theory because, as we learn in the LOTR, after Gollum slips through Aragorn's fingers in Mordor, he goes on a thirty year, middle-earth wide search to find his true love.
Impressive! I was (well, I still am!) a Tolkien geek back in the '70's and my geek friends and I were enraptured that our favorite band referenced our favorite author's works. It never occurred to me that it might be part of the story in the appendices that the song was interpreting---well done!
Impressive! I was (well, I still am!) a Tolkien geek back in the '70's and my geek friends and I were enraptured that our favorite band referenced our favorite author's works. It never occurred to me that it might be part of the story in the appendices that the song was interpreting---well done!
(an yes, I realize I am writing this 10 years after your post.)
(an yes, I realize I am writing this 10 years after your post.)
@Chris211 I think this is the most accurate interpretation of the books. People think the movies are accurate. Although the basic story line is followed, they took "artistic license" in the making of the movies, so a lot of what happened in the books is left out, or even changed, for artistic adaptation.
@Chris211 I think this is the most accurate interpretation of the books. People think the movies are accurate. Although the basic story line is followed, they took "artistic license" in the making of the movies, so a lot of what happened in the books is left out, or even changed, for artistic adaptation.
I'm pretty sure this song is about Aragorn (Strider) and the story is actually only covered in Appendix A of the LOTR. This song recounts a part of Aragorn's life that happened well before the LOTR begins, and just before the events recounted in The Hobbit. The song refers to Aragorn's unexpected re-union with Arwen (daughter of Elrond and Aragorn's true love) in Lothlorien. At the end of this chapter, Aragorn must decide whether to stay in Lothlorien and marry Arwen or leave the forest and pursue Gollum. in the appendiceed story, we learn that, just previously to Aragorn finding Arwen, Gandalf tells Aragorn that Gollum has the ring and is hiding on the outskirts of Mordor. He also tells him that Sauron is also looking for Gollum. He begs Aragorn to find Gollum before Sauron does (neither of them winds up finding Gollum and he escapes to the misty mountains). The lyrics "but gollum, and the evil one crept up and slipped away with her" does not mean that they literally kidnapped her, but that his duty to pursue Gollum, and to not let Sauron possess the One Ring, caused him to lose his true love. The choruses in the song also seem to support my theory because, as we learn in the LOTR, after Gollum slips through Aragorn's fingers in Mordor, he goes on a thirty year, middle-earth wide search to find his true love.
Chris211-
Chris211-
Impressive! I was (well, I still am!) a Tolkien geek back in the '70's and my geek friends and I were enraptured that our favorite band referenced our favorite author's works. It never occurred to me that it might be part of the story in the appendices that the song was interpreting---well done!
Impressive! I was (well, I still am!) a Tolkien geek back in the '70's and my geek friends and I were enraptured that our favorite band referenced our favorite author's works. It never occurred to me that it might be part of the story in the appendices that the song was interpreting---well done!
(an yes, I realize I am writing this 10 years after your post.)
(an yes, I realize I am writing this 10 years after your post.)
@Chris211 This is precisely what I've always thought about this song. :)
@Chris211 This is precisely what I've always thought about this song. :)
@Chris211 I think this is the most accurate interpretation of the books. People think the movies are accurate. Although the basic story line is followed, they took "artistic license" in the making of the movies, so a lot of what happened in the books is left out, or even changed, for artistic adaptation.
@Chris211 I think this is the most accurate interpretation of the books. People think the movies are accurate. Although the basic story line is followed, they took "artistic license" in the making of the movies, so a lot of what happened in the books is left out, or even changed, for artistic adaptation.