I have been talking about this poem with Travis on and off for the last couple of years.
I thought it’d be a great poem for Halloween but I missed my opportunity during October.
I thought I’d put it up anyway because I think it’s great and I recently got my hands on the sound recording of Tolkien reading it- which is the way I first heard it. It was an old cassette at my local library named- The Songs and Poems of Middle Earth. If you can find it you’ll be overjoyed by Tolkien reading and singing many of his works.
jrr-tolkien-recites-the-mewlips
I’m not exactly sure when the recording was made but it certainly is mono.
Tolkien’s voice is very rich and suits the material so well- as you’d expect. He seems like he’s about to break into some elvish dialect at any moment. His pronounciations are wonderful and it appears that his knowledge of languages and the evolution of languages give him some special insight into the richness and aural pleasure of vocal. Though a master of the written word I think he’d be equally at home in the oral tradition. Something like a Gondorian at home among the Rohirrim.
Enjoy and comment.
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The Mewlips were in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, right? I never read this poem, but it was something to hear Tolkien reciting it. The Mewlips are hideous creatures; I wouldn’t want to pass by them in the dark. Who would? They keep your bones as souvenirs. The “spider-shadows” remind me of the forest of Mirkwood where the spiders captured Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves in The Hobbit. Thanks for posting the audio Matt.
Yes, Johnny. It is from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil. On that tape he read that too.
I remember in the old Iron Crown Enterprises – Middle Earth Roleplaying Mewlips were classed as semi-aquatic undead creatures. Why are moist monsters scarier than dry ones?
My party in MERP got its rear end kicked by a single Mewlip!
Anyway, that was a great poem. “And then the Mewlips feast.” Wonderfully morbid way to end a poem! I don’t have the particular recording you reference Matthew but I do have a similar one.
Another good one, fun but sinister at the same time is The Old Troll.
Old troll sat alone on his seat of stone
and munched and mumbled a bare old bone
For many a year he gnawed it near
for meat was hard to come by
Done by! Gum by!
For many a year he gnawed it near
for meat was hard to come by!
Best I can do from memory. But the whole poem’s good. Is that one on the recording?
Not much into Mewlips, I’m afraid, although if you listen to Tolkien’s voice and how he enunciates his words, you can totally hear what kind of person he was.
My attention was caught by Korg’s statement about moist monsters being more menacing than dry ones. I decided to test the hypothesis by compiling lists:
Dry monsters:
Ring Wraiths/Dementors, vampires, werewolves, King Kong, Shelob/Aragog, mummies, trolls, golems, Frankenstein’s monster, Grendel, Old Man Willow/Thumping Willow, basilisk, banashee, rakshasa, cyclops, gorgon, doppelganger, Horla, horta, etc
Moist monsters:
Most of Lovecraft’s monsters including Cthulhu, the creature from the Black Lagoon, Nessie, Kraken, selkie, the slithering monster in the garbage chamber in Star Wars IV, etc
Monsters of unknown or mixed humidity:
ghosts, Samara
After a while I realized that there are too many monsters for easy compilation. I also saw a trend: there are more dry monsters than moist ones, so perhaps its not a fair comparison. But with the exception of Samara (who’s both and neither) I don’t find the moist monsters that fearsome.
Actually Johnny, I was thinking and remembered the poem is not from The Adventures of Tom Bombadil at all. It is from Tales from the Perilous Realm.
Red Rocker,
Maybe I’m projecting my fear of sea creatures into the moist monster issue. I have loved snorkeling and SCUBA diving and seeing an amazing variety of beautiful creatures but I definately feel like an alien down there and that if they wanted to have a go at me I’d be toast.
I really like your lists especiall the unknown or mixed humidity. I don’t quite agree with Shelob being on your dry list. Wasn’t she “bubbling in her misery” or something like that? It sounds kind of juicy.
revgeorge,
The Old Troll isn’t on that particular recording but I do have it if you’d like it posted. Thanks for the recitation. The recording of that I have Tolkien reading it is in Sam’s voice and doesn’t follow the words as they appear in LOTR. Sounds much more rustic and less refined that the other hobbits. My favourite Tolkien troll-poem is Perry-the-Winkle.
Here
I have some other Tolkien recordings if you would like to have them posted.
Of course, I agree! I highly recommend the musical adaptation of the poem by The Hobbitons and the instrumental song inspired by the poem by Caprice. Great stuff.
Thank you Amy.
Have you heard Tolkien reading The Sea-bell?
Oh, it is from “The Adventures of Tom Bombadil”, all right. Tales from the Perilous Realm is a compilation which incorporates AoTB. For that matter, there was a previous compilation called The Tolkien Reader which also included AoTB (I still have my thirty-year-old copy).
Thanks for the correction and information, Steve.
Have you heard Tolkien reading The Sea-bell?
Yes, and it’s fantastic stuff!