The Flight of the Noldor

The inspiration for this song comes, in part, from the beautifully worded plaint of Galadriel (Galadriel’s Song of Eldamar) in the LOTR:

I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew,
Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.
…
But if of ships I now should sing, what ship would come to me,
What ship would bear me ever back across so wide a Sea?

Galadriel, princess of the Noldor, was the youngest child of Finarfin and the only child of Finarfin to survive the crossing to Middle Earth. At one point she would have shared the initial Noldor enthusiasm of coming into a kingdom of her own to reign over in Middle Earth. But the millennia slowly pass, and the strength of the First-Born diminish, and Galadriel yet sorrows for the loss of Eldamar; longing to return to Aman, the Blessed Land of the Undying.

Galadriel, then, expresses the conflicted feelings of the Eldar: she loves Middle Earth, she loves Eldamar from which she remains exiled. These are the sentiments that I attempted to capture in the lyrics (see below).

But there’s more: for why did the Noldor leave Aman in the first place? From the Silmarillion we know the central part played by The Oath of Fëanor – which was sworn by the greatest High King of the Noldor who epitomises the Noldori at both their best and worst. Galadriel was Fëanor’s close kin (his half-niece): she experienced his betrayal of her people firsthand, as she too endured with them their trek across the Helcaraxë. Galadriel, of all people, would retain no illusions about the capacity of the elves to excel in both good and evil.

An oldie, but a goodie

Tasman Archer‘s Sleeping Satellite is an older song with a memorable, plaintive tune that still carries pathos with modern listeners. The tune itself is straight-forward and performed with a clear vocal lead.

The original lyrics referred to the early Luna missions: but could easily be reworked to evoke the Noldori affection for Varda or Elbereth, the Star-Queen of the Valar. Archer’s original lyrics, interestingly, also include a repeatedly stressing the word “blame” in the chorus: which formed the perfect lyrical hook for introducing cause of all the Noldori tribulations on Middle Earth: the Oath of Fëanor.

I include the full lyrics to Galadriel Remembers below.

Galadriel Remembers

Chorus:

I blame you – on this moonlit sky
For the dreams that die,
While the Noldor strive.
O Varda! On this moonlit night,
Still I wonder why,
Did my people die?
And I blame the Oath of Fëanor.

V1:

Did we leave Middle Earth too soon?
Never gave us a chance
For the elves to remain who were fain
To build kingdoms and their renown enhance?
Too late we try –
Now cities laid waste and our honour defaced
On a foolish adventure.

Chorus:

V2:

In the swan ships by sea we advanced.
But we came too soon.
Angband strength was too great. And we got there too late.
We arrived by the full moon.
I wonder why
All the lives sacrificed. Far too high was the price.
Gone – our greatest treasure!

Chorus:

[Instrumental]

V3:

In Lothlórien forest we dwell.
Dark enemies are nigh.
We patrol our border, so nearby to Mordor
And the Mirkwood. This we spy.
Elbereth O why?
On we wend. Will our exile end?
Can we stop this failed adventure?

Chorus:

Outro:

Oh – yeah. x2
And I blame the Oath of Fëanor.

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