Translations - The Song of Durin in English and in P-AdW Westron

A hypothetical translation of The Song of Durin from the English language into P-AdW Westron.

 

 

(C) Ted Nasmith - Durin I discovers the Three Peaks

First the original English lyrics of the song, as written by Tolkien, and sung in a recited manner in The Fellowship of the Ring v, in the mines of Moria (Khazad-dûm), by Gimli, a member of the titular fellowship of nine heroes.

 

The Song of Durin

The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
No words were laid on stream or stone
When Durin woke and walked alone.

He named the nameless hills and dells;
He drank from yet untasted wells;
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
And saw a crown of stars appear,
As gems upon a silver thread,
Above the shadow of his head.

The world was fair, the mountains tall,
In Elder Days before the fall
Of mighty kings in Nargothrond
And Gondolin, who now beyond
The Western Seas have passed away:
The world was fair in Durin's Day.

A king he was on carven throne
In many-pillared halls of stone
With golden roof and silver floor,
And runes of power upon the door.

The light of sun and star and moon
In shining lamps of crystal hewn
Undimmed by cloud or shade of night
There shone for ever fair and bright.

There hammer on the anvil smote,
There chisel clove, and graver wrote;
There forged was blade, and bound was hilt;
The delver mined, the mason built.

There beryl, pearl, and opal pale,
And metal wrought like fishes' mail,
Buckler and corslet, axe and sword,
And shining spears were laid in hoard.

Unwearied then were Durin's folk;
Beneath the mountains music woke:
The harpers harped, the minstrels sang,
And at the gates the trumpets rang.

The world is grey, the mountains old,
The forge's fire is ashen-cold;
No harp is wrung, no hammer falls:
The darkness dwells in Durin's halls;

The shadow lies upon his tomb
In Moria, in Khazad-dûm.
But still the sunken stars appear
In dark and windless Mirrormere;
There lies his crown in water deep,
Till Durin wakes again from sleep.

 

 

Professor Tolkien reads The Song of Durin.

 

An adaptation of the song by the ensemble Clamavi de Profundis.

 

An adaptation of the song by British folk singer Colin Rudd.

 

Maybe you'll say to yourself, "Oh, if only we could also hear Gimli's own recital"... Here you go. In this fourth video, you'll hear, with a gap of twenty years, at least the recital by the film version of Gimli. ;-) Imagine all the scenes, in which the film version of Gimli stands in the sad ruins of the film's depiction of Moria, and begins to recite the Song of During in a heartfelt manner, in honour of the glory of Durin, the central forefather of the dwarves. (John Rhys-Davies did a generous reading of The Song of Durin in 2023.)

A more loosely translated-and-rerhymed and more abridged version of The Song of Durin, from the fifth episode of the first season of the Slovak radio drama adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, from 2001. This adaptation is sung by Vladimír "Ady" Hajdu, the Slovak radio Gimli, with occassional whispered comments by Sam, played by Stano Dančiak.

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A brief aside... The Slovak translation of the song featured on this blog (see the relevant article) is my own. I don't doubt that the Czech book translation, the Slovak book translation or the translation in the Slovak radio drama are all nice, but I wanted to have the Slovak lyrics hew as closely as possible to the original English verses. This private translation of mine is not entirely new, I've already written and re-rhymed it already a few years ago. I have tried my utmost to remain clsoe to the meaning of the original English lyrics, and at the same time, make the song rhyme.

(C) "kimberly80" - Kheled-zaram (Mirrormere)

 

And here's the grand finale of this article. A hypothetical version of The Song of Durin in P-AdW Westron, albeit without rhymes.

  

Lînthet an-Durin 

Abânet ahînethara, urîd alayagara
Bâ tudânra ugru nîlunud
Bâ ahay bêthi nînauda hya borauda
Anîd Durin ukûv ka ubata îrnar

Unêsadra bâmanêz urîd ka gulîn
Usûgara kibîlô ob-bâdyav
Unûtabra ka yêtudra Kelenlônada
Ka tudra grine an-gimil nêru
Bê zimrî auda gimil lana
Narlad nâlut an-uryu-karz

Abânet avâlnara, urîd orhalara
Im Zara ûrepûhit, ob kalbet
An bârâna âri im Narôzdmâr
Ka Boranûld, mân îdô ephav
Adûnô Azrît yabatavîndak
Abânet avâlnara im Durinan ûrepûha

Unârura auda karagô ârharav
Im lînra-târikô hôl an-abanrud
Mâ pharazô zade ka gimilô dalm
Ka cîrti an-abâr vendetnud.

Kâlot an ûre ka gimil ka nil
Im kâlogîlk gibêlô an gibora pelgnin
Bâdavar ugphâm hya nâlo an-dolgu
Tand agibêlra dênoy vâln ka bêl.

Tand pâlang auda tamanget pâla
Tand karang karnara, ka cîrrumagân cîrrothra
Tand tamra kar, ka lisârra târik an-zagar
Phurgânt phurrâra, borar magannâra.

Tand nimruzimra, mâril, ka iluyo lûynbor
Ka ârangê haldham magla bê linghaba
Kmâpahald ka âva haldvag, pâkar ka zagar
Ka ahay haurv sulangîr kâlona.

Bâlumdânra tînd Durin-lâi
Dalad urîd lînbêth kuyvâ
Dandalîr dandalra, lînthîrt lînthra,
Ka anrídzét rûtarîs pardpûttam

Abânet ahisîna, urîd azara
Tamzadyat nite aslît-nalkin
Bâ dandal tingî, bâ pâlang kalab
Dolgut dûka imi Durin-hîl

Ugrut kay auda urya nôyar
Imi Moria, imi Khazad-dûm.
Arn têrn umdôn gimil nêru
Imi dulgu ka bavâbêng Kilundlôn
Tand kay urya grine imi umdu
Tenra Durin kuyvâ adâr mûrumô

(C) "goffietwerb" - Seven Fathers of the Dwarves

(C) 1954 J. R. R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
 
(C) 2018 Slovak translation by Potulný rytier zemplínsky

(C) 2021 P-AdW Westron translation by Potulný rytier zemplínsky

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External links

Professor Tolkien reads the song (YouTube)

An adaptation of the song by Colin Rudd (YouTube, the channel of Colina Rudda)

An adaptation of the song by the ensemble Clamavi de Profundis (YouTube, the channel of Clamavi de Profundis)

A recited adaptation of the song by John Rhys-Davies (YouTube, the Nerd of the Rings channel)

John Rhys-Davies' recited adaptation set to music (YouTube, the Middle-earth Daily channel)