Sometimes I cry tears because there’s so little bear / bara / cub, etc., appreciation in the Silmarillion, and then I remember that this is because the Silmarillion contains so few dwarves– the rest of the Tolkien fandom is practically rolling in thick hot hairy dudes and their chubby hobbit boyfriends and we’re the only ones missing out on this action because Sad Elves Ruin Everything >:|
Village dotard, old idiot Village dotard, weak in the head Village dotard, crooked imp Village dotard, bowlegged Village dotard, up on the cold hill Village dotard, a viper on his lap.
Croaks and ambles lonely in the night. Croaks and ambles with an ember in his hands. Scorches on his palms, his feet on fire, All lonely in the night, a tired old devil.
On the cold hill the adders slide around each other, One high, two low. The old man’s palm the curving viper bit, A stinging wound, a load of vile venom.
Old man, alone in the night turns back, In the stairwell, sits waiting for the viper Wants to put its wily head on the block, To axe its slithery neck.
“Snake slither-stealthy, enemy eyeslanted, groundprowler heatherhue, earth your evil incubator; thou knowst evil incubation, earth’s stealthy sireling, from earth sired other serpents, snakes of sibilant shades; Know not thy hue however your hue may be, be thee one hue, dark hue, grey hue, be thee brass or bronze hue— Devil’s biter damned, thou shalt not lay upon my lap, feast on my flesh, you lightningback longtooth lord of lies! Flee to the forest, whisk to the willowstems, slither under sullen stones, sable serpent dive thee deep to dirt. Take the ailment away, your hurt to your horrid home; bring the pain to a battlefield, unleash your evil on the enemy. Better the bite banishes the bad, purify the potent poison, away I say— thou vilest viper, never nose round these acres! Devil’s biter damned, thou shalt not lay upon my lap, feast on my flesh, you lightningback longtooth lord of lies! Flee to the forest, whisk to the willowstems, slither under sullen stones, sable serpent dive thee deep to dirt!”
Old man heals the devil’s bite Pours out liquor, washes it with spirits, Pours tar and heats a smokey sauna, Conjures smoky charms, sings spells in his hut.
In the village they all wonder; Wonder about the old man’s twisting, stumbling, About the nightly croaking from a hunchbacked devil, About an old man’s struggles, cast the rudest rumors:
“Village dotard, old idiot”
“Village dotard, bowlegged”
Old man, old dotard, weary, Stronger men could take far less.
–Note: Lyrics dubiously patched together from at least four sources, very probably inaccurate, but hopefully evocative! Spellsong lyrics translated here. Further translations here.
As long as I’ve got a groove going for Lay of Leithian music recs…
@misbehavingmaiar ‘s post about Barry Dransfield’s The Werewolf made me think of this song, which always makes me think of Sauron.
The singing elves have been driven to the very brink of the Sea! (It’s the Minack theatre in West Cornwall, which is a very cool place to see music if you happen to be travelling that way)
OooOooOH! 😀 Many thanks indeed! You’re right on, this is very reminiscent of those spooky cantos in the Lay, eyes growing in the eyeless dark and all that.
Omg this artist also has a song called the Blacksmith’s Prayer, so I’m officially on board *3*
is it silverfisting? will I get the exclusive right to scream so loud the sound will cross timezones & oceans to haunt you in your sleep? if yes i’m in
wait crackpairing NM I’M IN GIMME
K, I FEAR YOUR WRATH. >A> K, YOUR WRATH, I FEAR IT.
If you headbutt me from so many timezones away, it will be 10x as powerful and I will be obliterated
drawing: my neck and lower back hurt but I am filled with a sense of accomplishment; i walk it off the next day and continue life as a sapient being
writing: i wake from my stupor in a puddle of grease and ectoplasm; my bones have fused together, i’m a foot shorter, my friends think i’m dead; the house is infested with vermin and I’m wearing a 16th century hairshirt because there hasn’t been clean laundry in the hamper for decades, my skin no longer fits, sunlight vaporizes me instantly, I fall into a coma for a thousand years
MisbehavingMaiar: Tumblr Archive 