#tom bombadil

In a chair, at the far side of the room facing the outer door, sat a woman. Her long yellow hair rippled down her shoulders; her gown was green, green as young reeds, shot with silver like beads of dew; and her belt was of gold, shaped like a chain of flag-lilies set with the pale-blue eyes of forget-me-nots. About her feel in wide vessels of green and brown earthenware, white water-lilies were floating, so that she seemed to be enthroned in the midst of a pool.

‘Enter, good guests!’ she said, and as she spoke they knew that it was her clear voice they had heard singing. They came a few timid steps further into the room, and began to bow low, feeling strangely surprised and awkward, like folk that, knocking at a cottage door to beg for a drink of water, have been answered by a fair young elf-queen clad in living flowers. But before they could say anything, she sprang lightly up and over the lily-bowls, and ran laughing towards them; and as she ran her gown rustled softly like the wind in the flowering borders of a river.

'Come dear folk!’ she said, taking Frodo by the hand. 'Laugh and be merry! I am Goldberry, daughter of the River.’ Then lightly she passed them and closing the door she turned her back to it, with her white arms spread out across it. 'Let us shut out the night!’ she said. 'For you are still afraid, perhaps, of mist and tree-shadows and deep water, and untame things. Fear nothing! For tonight you are under the roof of Tom Bombadil.’

The hobbits looked at her in wonder; and she looked at each of them and smiled. 'Fair lady Goldberry!’ said Frodo at last, feeling his heart moved with a joy that he did not understand. He stood as he had at times stood enchanted by fair elven-voices; but the spell that was now laid upon him was different: less keen and lofty was the delight, but deeper and nearer to mortal heart; marvellous and yet not strange. 'Fair lady Goldberry!’ he said again. 'Now the joy that was hidden in the songs we heard is made plain to me.

     O slender as a willow-wand! O clearer than clear water!
     O reed by the living pool! Fair River-daughter!
     O spring-time and summer-time, and spring again after!
     O wind on the waterfall, and the leaves’ laughter!’

–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, “In the House of Tom Bombadil”

When they caught his words again they found that he had now wandered into strange regions beyond their memory and beyond their waking thought, into times when the world was wider, and the seas flowed straight to the western Shore; and still on and back Tom went singing out into ancient starlight, when only the Elf-sires were awake. Then suddenly he stopped, and they saw that he nodded as if he was falling asleep. The hobbits sat still before him, enchanted; and it seemed as if, under the spell of his words, the wind had gone, and the clouds had dried up, and the day had been withdrawn, and darkness had come from East and West, and all the sky was filled with the light of white stars.

Whether the morning and evening of one day or of many days had passed Frodo could not tell. He did not feel either hungry or tired, only filled with wonder. The stars shone through the window and the silence of the heavens seemed to be round him. He spoke at last out of his wonder and a sudden fear of that silence:

‘Who are you, Master?’ he asked.

'Eh, what?’ said Tom sitting up, and his eyes glinting in the gloom. 'Don’t you know my name yet? That’s the only answer. Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself and nameless? But you are young and I am old. Eldest, that’s what I am. Mark my words, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees; Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He made paths before the Big People, and saw the little People arriving. He was here before the Kings and the graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves passed westward, Tom was here already, before the seas were bent. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless–before the Dark Lord came from Outside.’

–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, “In the House of Tom Bombadil”

Then suddenly the trees came to an end and the mists were left behind. They stepped out from the Forest, and found a wide sweep of grass welling up before them. The river, now small and swift, was leaping merrily down to meet them, glinting here and there in the light of the stars, which were already shining in the sky.

The grass under their feet was smooth and short, as if it had been mown or shaven. The eaves of the Forest behind were clipped, and trim as a hedge. The path was now plain before them, well-tended and bordered with stone. It wound up on to the top of a grassy knoll, now grey under the pale starry night; and there, still high above them on a further slope, they saw the twinkling lights of a house. Down again the path went, and then up again, up a long smooth hillside of turf, towards the light. Suddenly a wide yellow beam flowed out brightly from a door that was opened. There was Tom Bombadil’s house before them, up, down, under hill. Behind it a steep shoulder of the land lay grey and bare, and beyond that the dark shapes of the Barrow-downs stalked away into the eastern night.

They all hurried forward, hobbits and ponies. Already half their weariness and all their fears had fallen from them. Hey! Come merry dol! rolled out the song to greet them.

   Hey! Come derry dol! Hop along, my hearties!
   Hobbits! Ponies all! We are fond of parties.
   Now let the fun begin! Let us sing together!

Then another clear voice, as young and as ancient as Spring, like the song of a glad water flowing down into the night from a bright morning in the hills, came falling like silver to meet them:

   Now let the song begin! Let us sing together
   Of sun, stars, moon and mist, rain and cloudy weather,
   Light on the budding leaf, dew on the feather,
   Wind on the open hill, bells on the heather,
   Reeds by the shady pool, lilies on the water:
   Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter!

And with that song the hobbits stood upon the threshold, and a golden light was all about them.

–J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, “The Old Forest”

Middle-earth March - Day 6 

“Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo! Ring a dong! hop along! Fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!” Tolkien’s most mysterious and enigmatic character, Tom Bombadil is probably one of the oldest creatures in all of Arda. He lives in the Old Forest, close to the Barrow Downs. There are many theories of his origins, him being a Maia, a man, Ilúvatar himself, or even the reader. He appeared as an old man with a wrinkled face and a bristling brown beard, wearing a blue jacket, yellow boots, and an old hat that featured a feather.

Welcome to Tom Bombadil and Goldberry’s home  :D !

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art-of-a-diffrent-color:

eirianerisdar:

esthelle18:

cycas:

My husband sent me this on Facebook.

(We don’t know who made it.  If the originator makes themselves known, I’ll credit) 

If we take “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil” to be canon, then not only does Tom scare off horrific demon-monsters with his rhymes, but his daily schedule includes coming home, finding said demon-monsters in his own bedroom, and ordering them off the property like it’s their cute little ritual.

If you think about it, the tra-la-lallyElves were of Elrond’s house, many of whom were survivors of Eregion or followed him to build a new home in Rivendell after Gil-Galad fell (the rest of Gil-Galad’s people presumably remained with Círdan in Mithlond).

Many of these elves had once sung the battle-songs of Beleriand and the later in the Second Age.

Perhaps there is also power in the tra-la-lally songs of the jolly valley.

Tom Bombadil and The Elves Rivendell: We are gonna sing songs so aweful, Morgoth and Sauron and their monsters can’t stand to be in the same corner of the country least their ears bleed.

It’s always been about song battles anyway

Tom Bombadil for this month’s Character Design Challenge!