Song themes

In this parody rewrite of Legends Never Die by Against the Current I chose to recount the deeds of notable balrog-slayers: Echthelion, Glorfindel, and of course, Gandalf.

Legends Never Die is a superlative choice for such a subject: the original lyrics being directly aimed at characters “pursuing greatness” (‘League of Legends’ style) which dovetails nicely with some of the themes encountered in The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarillion: in this case, one-on-one duels that impact the entire course of history in Middle Earth.

Song-recording

In this parody I left the original vocals of the chorus untouched: electing only to replace the lower-register “verse” sequences with Tolkien-themed lyrics. The result is, in effect, a kind of duet with Chrissy Costanza: with all due apologies to Against the Current.

The original song makes no musical distinction between the tune used in the “verses” and the “chorus”: the singer just sings up the octave in the chorus sections. The verses are easily within the tenor range – which is preserved is the parody: Constanza is left to carry the chorus as lead-soprano.

Lyrics

Balrog-Slayers

V1:

Legends never die. Just as Echthelion
Took down Gothmog the lord of balrogs.
Legends never die. Just as Glorfindel
Dueled to death the balrog in the mountains.
They sacrificed their lives.

Br:

For they took up their arms, regardless of odds, when the fighting’s near.
They could do nought else, but would lay down their lives, bought their victory dear.
So take good heart because

Ch: (female lead sing)

Legends never die when the world is calling you
Can you hear them screaming out your name?
Legends never die, they become a part of you
Every time you bleed for reaching greatness

Legends never die

V2 (-):

When Mithrandir wandered the mines of Moria
He lost his life on the bridge of Khazâd-dûm

Br:

He laid down his life, cast the balrog down, fell into the deep.
He fell out of time, he fell out of mind, into timeless sleep.
That’s what wizards do.

Ch: (female lead sing)
Br2: (female lead sing)
Ch: (female lead sing)

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