If I could point to one thing that really makes Tolkien’s works and the world of Middle-earth come alive for me, it would be hearing the songs and ballads from The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion set to music. There’s something magical about the tradition of storytelling through song. There’s a connection that is deepened through familiar repetition of the tales, and when singers pass on a story, they lend more than just their vocality–they are introducing their own voices to the telling.
Karliene Reynolds is a singer who is no stranger to taking words from fiction and turning them into beautiful music. She has been working through the songs from George R.R. Martin’s series A Song of Ice and Fire, and Martin himself approves of her rendition of “The Dornishman’s Wife“! (Some of my favorites are “My Featherbed,” “The Last of the Giants,” and “Sansa’s Hymn.” Oh wait, you didn’t ask!)
But before she discovered Westeros, she first discovered Middle-earth, and she has been using it to inspire her music for years. Her most recent Tolkien-related song is the tragic “Lament for Boromir,” sung in the books by Aragorn and Legolas. It is beautifully done and perfectly fits the melancholy scene.
If you enjoyed that, you should listen to some of Karliene’s other ventures to Middle-earth:
- The King Beneath The Mountains
- Smaug’s Song
- I See Fire
- Gollum’s Song
- Over The Misty Mountains Cold
- Edge of Night (aka Pippin’s Song)
- Galadriel’s Song
It is my not-so-secret hope that nerdy parents will sing these songs to their children, making it part of their own personal history. What are some of your favorites and what do you hope she’ll do in the future?
To keep up with Karliene and all of her new music, follow her on YouTube, Soundcloud, Facebook, Twitter, and her website, karliene.com. On her website, she often offers free downloads of her songs, and you can find Lament for Boromir there!
If you like Karliene’s original songs inspired by The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, check out Myla‘s Original Tolkien Music Playlist.
