Tom Bombadil:
Ring a dong! hop along! fal lal the willow!
Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!
Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! My darling!
Light goes the weather-wind and the feathered starling.
Down along under Hill, shining in the sunlight,
Waiting on the doorstep for the cold starlight,
There my pretty lady is, River-woman's daughter,
Slender as the willow-wand, clearer than the water.
Old Tom Bombadil water-lilies bringing
Comes hopping home again. Can you hear him singing?
Hey! Come merry dol! derry dol! and merry-o,
Goldberry, Goldberry, merry yellow berry-o!
Poor old Willow-man, you tuck your roots away!
Tom's in a hurry now. Evening will follow day.
Tom's going home home again water-lilies bringing.
Hey! come derry dol! Can you hear me singing?
Hop along, my little friends, up the Withywindle!
Tom's going on ahead candles for to kindle.
Down west sinks the Sun: soon you will be groping.
When the night-shadows fall, then the door will open,
Out of the window-panes light will twinkle yellow.
Fear no alder black! Heed no hoary willow!
Fear neither root nor bough! Tom goes on before you.
Hey now! merry dol! We'll be waiting for you!
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!
Goldberry:
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,
Reads by the shady pool, lilies on the water:
Old Tom Bombadil and the River-daughter!
Tom Bombadil:
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!
Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow;
Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.
If anyone has ever read "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy", they have encountered Tom Bombadil, a character with a seemingly unknown identity. Long have I asked, "Who is Tom Bombadil exactly". His appearance is brief in "The Fellowship of the Ring" and almost Random. Tom Bombadil, I found, was the name of a Dutch Doll, which belonged to one of J.R.R. Tolkien's children. Long before "The Lord of the Rings" was written, Tolkien published a poem in Oxford Magazine called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil". Tolkien wrote in a letter after readers remarked that his appearance in "The Fellowship of the Ring" was an intrusion upon the narrative that,". . . many have found him an odd and indeed discordant ingredient. In historical fact I put him in because I had already invented him. . . and wanted an 'adventure' on the way. But I kept him in, and as he was, because he represents certain things otherwise left out".In another letter to his proofreader he wrote "even in a mythological Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally)" . Later in the letter he adds that "Tom is not an important person - to the narrative. I suppose he has some importance as a 'comment'." Tolkien went on from there to explain that Tom was a powerful character, but chose to renounce it and live as a pacifist in poverty. This is meant as a contrast to all of the character who seek the power of the Ring. Tolkien says, Tom's presence reveals that there are people and things in the world for whom the war is largely irrelevant or at least unimportant, and who cannot be easily disturbed or interfered with in terms of it.
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