Faramir tells the hobbits that Boromir, his brother, is dead. Cloven excerp… Read Full Bio ↴Faramir tells the hobbits that Boromir, his brother, is dead. Cloven excerpts of Evil Times litter the scene, select pitches chipped off the figure entirely, others raising an upsetting half-step, bending the line closer to Mordor’s chromatic tones. With a compassionate swell of strings, Faramir recalls finding his brother’s boat. He turns Boromir’s ruined horn in his hands, contemplative, and for just a moment the score trembles. Celli and basses, first in A♭ minor then G minor, peruse the first five notes of the Seduction of the Ring theme. Boromir tried to take the Ring. Does Faramir share his weakness?

The younger brother remembers happier times, envisioning Boromir retaking the city of Osgiliath. A sterling trumpet solo awakens, flexing its strong limbs and sounding The Realm of Gondor. Boromir proudly announces, “This city of Osgiliath has been reclaimed for Gondor!” Cymbals crash and a company of brass sings Gondor’s theme as proudly as it has yet been heard. But for all its dignity, it is still The Realm of Gondor (in Decline), the melody line pulling downwards at the theme’s tail end.

Faramir and Boromir share a drink under the shelter of the victorious score, but the calm is unmade by their father’s entrance. Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, has another task for his eldest. Word of Elrond’s upcoming Council has reached his ears, and he has guessed its purpose. The One Ring has been found. The History of the Ring theme plays, but ducks away at the last instant, concealing itself from view. At the same time, a new more sinister motive reveals itself. A purely rhythmic variation on the Mordor Skip Beat percolates through the string writing, each statement bracketed into three identical pitches that neither rise nor shift. The utterances become more pronounced until the line breaks to the forefront of the score in a near quote of a passage from The Fellowship of the Ring’s Prologue. War with Sauron has bent Denethor’s fragile mind. His voice is but a whisper, yet Shore’s score builds so intently that each word assumes a maddening weight. “Bring me back this mighty gift,” he tells Boromir.

Despite his misgivings Boromir accepts this charge, and cor anglais and French horn join over a string pedal in The Two Towers’ final muted statement of The Realm of Gondor. Strings finish the line, accentuating its conclusion—the Decline phrase.

IN THE MAKING:
The choral writing in this composition, which features The Two Towers’ only use of “The Death of Boromir” text, does not appear in the film.

TEXTS
THE DEATH OF BOROMIR
PART ONE
Text by J. R. R. Tolkien
Sindarin Translation by David Salo
First Heard: Disc Two | Track Thirteen
Ú-velin i vegil an eigas | I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness
Egor i bilin a linnas | Nor the arrow for its swiftness
Egor i vaethor an aglar | Nor the Warrior for his glory
Melin i mar i beriar. | I love the homeland which they defend.

(c) The Annotated Score (The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films)

Sons of the Steward
Howard Shore Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

THE DEATH OF BOROMIR, PART ONE
text by J.R.R. TOLKIEN, translation by DAVID SALO
( SINDARIN )

Ú-velin i vegil an eigas
Egor i bilin a linnas
Egor i vaethor an aglar.
Melin i mar i beriar.

(( I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness
Nor the arrow for its swiftness

Nor the warrior for his glory.
I love the homeland which they defend. ))

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Howard Shore's song "Parth Galen" are part of the soundtrack to "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" movie. Specifically, these lyrics are sung in the scene where Boromir is mortally wounded while trying to defend Merry and Pippin from attacking orcs. The lyrics are sung in Sindarin, one of the Elvish languages created by J.R.R. Tolkien, and they are a lament for Boromir's death.

The first verse translates to "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend." This lyric reflects Boromir's character, as he was a warrior from the city of Gondor who initially sought to use the One Ring to defend his homeland from its enemies. However, he ultimately realized the danger of the Ring's power and sacrificed himself to protect his fellow members of the Fellowship.

The second verse is an instrumental section of the song that begins with a mournful violin solo before transitioning into a more somber theme played by the rest of the orchestra. This section represents the aftermath of Boromir's death, as the rest of the Fellowship are left to grieve and continue their quest without him.

Line by Line Meaning

I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness
I do not value weaponry for its sharpness, but for the purpose for which it is used.

Nor the arrow for its swiftness
I do not value the arrow for its speed, but for what it represents - a weapon used in defense of one's homeland.

Nor the warrior for his glory.
I do not value the warrior for the honor he may receive, but for his bravery and willingness to protect his homeland.

I love the homeland which they defend.
Above all, I value and cherish the land that these instruments of defense are meant to protect.

Contributed by Scarlett Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

@devinlong7478

3y↑3

"I trust this mission to your brother, the one who will not fail me."

And he blew it anyway.

@monoverantus

3y↑1

I remember an interview with David Wenham where he wondered how the story would've turned out if Faramir had gone to Rivendell and joined the Fellowship, which to this day is a pretty intriguing question.

@devinlong7478

3y↑3

@@monoverantus intriguing, but of course the Faramir in the film interpretation of Two Towers is WAY different than the Faramir in the book.

@monoverantus

@@devinlong7478 I'll confess I haven't read the books in such a long time that I remember the differences

@viktorwong9069

3y↑2

This scene and soundtrack portrayed Boromir's image more fully, making him look more like a real person. Brave and fearless, but also tempted by the Ring. Denethor's expectations and pressure became the last straw.

@monoverantus

3y↑2

It seems you're quite fascinated with him, and for good reason. I'm still finding interesting parallels between him and Faramir as I go deeper into RotK's score...

@viktorwong9069

3y↑2

@@monoverantus cuz at the first time I saw lotr, I simply regarded him as a bay guy, when I was less than ten years old. As I grow up, I have deeper understanding of the whole story, each character in lotr is not independent.