Familiarity of the Rings

I am often asked, “What kind of music do you like?” Actually, I’m rarely asked that, but work with me here.

My answer is, invariably, “Familiar music.” That is to say, the best way for me to enjoy music is for me to hear it repeatedly. Even tunes that I don’t particularlly care for at first blush begin to mentally resonate with me upon rehearing.

As Margie will tell you, this usually involves listening to a given CD (or even just a single track thereof) until the laser drills through to the other side. Have I mentioned recently how patient Margie is with me?

Which brings to mind Lord of the Rings.

Each installment of the Peter Jackson trilogy had a vocal over the end titles. In Fellowship, it was Enya, who I am not ashamed to say is an artist I enjoy a lot. And her airy-fairy Celtic “May It Be” was perfect for the whole airy-fairy Celtic fantasy that was the first movie.

May it be an evening star
Shines down upon you,
May it be when darkness falls
Your heart will be true,
You walk a lonely road,
Oh! How far you are from home.

All that and Quenya, too.

She was, I knew, going to be a hard act to follow.

The Two Towers featured Emiliana Torrini belting out “Gollum’s Song.” I hated it. What the heck was a torch song doing in a frickin’ Tolkien film, fergoshsakes? I mean, yeesh!

Hated it.

And yet … upon rehearing, and listening to the actual lyrics — that has got to be one of the creepiest tunes going.

So in the end
I’ll be what I will be,
No loyal friend
Was ever there for me.
Now we say good-bye,
We say you didn’t try.

It’s anguished, it’s painful, and it’s even foreshadowing of Frodo’s fate, too (“You are lost, You can never go home”). And, listening to the soundtrack now … it’s spot-on perfect for the middle film.

Well, the final wrap-up, Return of the King, was going to be a real test, I thought.

Annie Lennox?

I mean, I like Lennox, and I liked the Eurhythmics, but … huh?

Harumph. Way too pop. A bad note to leave off on.

Feh.

And yet … now that I’ve listened to it a few (several, dozen) times, and listened to the lyrics … I like it. Heck, I’m willing to say that I like it best of the three.

Part of it is the tune, “Into the West.” It’s wistful, without descending into the pathos of “Gollum’s Song.” It’s subtly magical without being all airy-fairy like “May It Be.” It sings, quietly, sadly, yet with subdued triumph and expectation, of the departure to the Uttermost West:

What can you see on the horizon?
Why do the white gulls call?
Across the sea a pale moon rises,
The ships have come to carry you home.
And all will turn to silver glass,
A light on the water,
Grey ships pass
Into the West.

But part of it is also Lennox. She doesn’t modulate and undulate her voice. No fancy tricks like Enya. She doesn’t belt it out like Torrini. She sings it straight-forwardly, humanly, soft in the soft parts, clarion and unadorned in the loud parts. I can feel the emotions underlying the departure — those of the hobbits, primarily, but even a bit of the elves and Gandalf — in my gut.

In short, it works for me. Your mileage, as with all things, may vary.

Three very different tunes. Three very different approaches. All of them, ultimately, effective at what they do. Kudos to Howard Shore, and Peter Jackson. And to the singers involved, of course.

So the question is … is it a good song if I like it after the fact? How much do first impressions really count?