The chorus catches in an harmonic stasis, intoning a chant-like line. Holding perfectly still upon the fires of Mount Doom, the One Ring, the source of Sauron’s power, the root of evil in Middle-earth, melts into nothingness.
It is destroyed.
The adjacent chords sound again, the perseverance melody now honoring the battle at the Black Gate. Sauron’s host turn their attention to Barad-dûr where the great eye peels wide, trembling in pain. The full force of the orchestra and chorus (see The Destruction of the Ring text) gathers the melodic line that once represented the Fate of the Ring and reforms the Ring themes’ despair to embracing hope. The Fate of the Ring is revealed in unchecked splendor as The Destruction of the Ring—the final Ring theme, its Fourth Age theme. Barad-dûr shatters and falls; Middle-earth opens the land and swallows the Orcs. Sauron’s eye is extinguished. The Destruction of the Ring has ushered in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth.
Gondor Reborn, its Fourth Age theme, now sounds to its full length, a silver trumpet at its head.
The joyous Destruction of the Ring celebrates, once again, the carillon of Middle-earth’s victory. Mount Doom explodes into a crest of fire… and the heroes pause. Did Frodo and Sam, their task complete, escape? Did the Ring claim them as its final victims?
Evil Times begins again as a reluctant chaconne (see Not Once, Not Ever text) —one which recalls another figure from the past, Gandalf’s Farewells. With four similarly mournful chords, Gandalf the Grey once bid his friends goodbye. It now appears he, and the rest of the Fellowship, must say goodbye to Frodo and Sam.
UNUSED CONCEPT:
The Original Soundtrack Album to The Return of the King featured an earlier draft of Shore’s music for the Ring’s moment of destruction.
IN THE MAKING:
The fall of Barad-dûr was altered in the final film with an insert of music intended for Aragorn’s coronation. Heard here is Shore’s original, complete composition.
TEXTS
DON’T LET GO
Text by Philippa Boyens
Sindarin Translation by David Salo
FIRST HEARD: DISC FOUR | TRACK TWO
Anírach únad | You want nothing more
Egor gurth hen | Than this death.
Han cenin vi chen lín | I see it in your eye.
Egor ú-erin le devi | But I cannot let you
Tellin men achae | We have come too far
Brennin men anann | We have held on too long.
Rago! Ú-erich leithio, | Reach! You cannot let go,
Ú-erich o nin gwanno. | You cannot leave me.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RING
Text by Philippa Boyens
Sindarin Translation by David Salo
FIRST HEARD: DISC FOUR | TRACK TWO
Mi naurath Orodruin | Into the fires of Orodruin
Boe hedi i Vín | The One must be cast;
Han i vangad i moe ben bango | This the price, that must be paid,
Sin eriol natha túr in úgarnen | Only thus its power will be undone,
Sin eriol ûm beleg úgannen | Only thus, a great evil, unmade.
Ú cilith ‘war. | There is no other choice.
Ú men ‘war. | There is no other way.
Boe min mebi. | One of you must take it,
Boe min bango. | One of you must pay.
NOT ONCE, NOT EVER
Text by Philippa Boyens
Sindarin Translation by David Salo
FIRST HEARD: DISC FOUR | TRACK TWO
Dannen le | You have fallen.
A ú-erin le regi | And I cannot reach you.
Rang ail le iestannen | Every step i willed you on,
Lû ail le tegin na hen. | Every moment i lead you to this.
Gwannach o innen ului | You never left my mind,
Ú lû erui, ului. | Not once, not ever.
(c) The Annotated Score (The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films)
The Crack of Doom
Howard Shore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
text by PHILIPPA BOYENS, translation by DAVID SALO
( SINDARIN )
Anírach únad
Egor gurth hen
Han cenin vi chen lín
Egor ú-erin le devi
Brennin men anann
Rago! Ú-erich leithio,
Ú-erich o nin gwanno.
(( You want nothing more
Than this death.
I see it in your eye.
But I cannot let you
We have come too far
We have held on too long.
Reach! You cannot let go,
You cannot leave me. ))
- - -
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE RING
text by PHILIPPA BOYENS, translation by DAVID SALO
( SINDARIN )
Mi naurath Orodruin
Boe hedi i Vín
Han i vangad i moe ben bango
Sin eriol natha túr in úgarnen
Sin eriol ûm beleg úgannen
(( Into the fires of Orodruin
The One must be cast;
This the price, that must be paid,
Only thus its power will be undone.
Only thus, a great evil, unmade. ))
Ú cilith 'war.
Ú men 'war
Boe min mebi.
Boe min bango.
(( There is no other choice.
There is no other way.
One of you must take it,
One of you must pay. ))
- - -
NOT ONCE, NOT EVER
text by PHILIPPA BOYENS, translation by DAVID SALO
( SINDARIN )
Dannen le
A ú-erin le regi
Rang ail le iestannen
Lû ail le tegin na hen.
Gwannach o innen ului
Ú lû erui, ului.
(( You have fallen.
And you cannot reach you.
Every step I willed you on,
Every moment I lead you to this.
You never left my mind,
Not once, not ever ))
The Crack of Doom is a somber and intense song that perfectly captures the desperation and sadness of the climax of The Lord of the Rings. The first set of lyrics, entitled "Don't Let Go," depict the relationship between Frodo and Sam as they approach the fiery chasm of Mount Doom. Sam can see the weariness and despair in Frodo's eyes, knowing that he longs for death and release from the burden of the One Ring. But Sam refuses to let go, feeling that they've come too far and held on too long to give up now. He begs Frodo to "reach," to hold on and not leave him behind.
The second set of lyrics, "The Destruction of the Ring," is a haunting depiction of the pivotal moment when Frodo ultimately succumbs to the Ring's power and refuses to destroy it. The chorus urges that the only way to undo the Ring's evil is to cast it into the fires of Mount Doom, despite the great cost that must be paid. As they realize Frodo cannot be trusted with the ring, Gollum enters the scene and ultimately bites off Frodo's finger that held the ring, taking it and going to celebrate over finishing his quest.
The final set of lyrics, "Not Once, Not Ever," speak to the deep bond between Frodo and Sam. Sam has always been Frodo's loyal companion, encouraging him and leading him through the darkest moments of their journey. Even when Frodo fell under the Ring's power and betrayed the mission, Sam never gave up on him. He remembers every moment they spent together and declares that Frodo was always on his mind, "not once, not ever."
Line by Line Meaning
Anírach únad
You want nothing more
Egor gurth hen
Than this death.
Han cenin vi chen lín
I see it in your eye.
Egor ú-erin le devi
But I cannot let you.
Tellin men achae
We have come too far.
Brennin men anann
We have held on too long.
Rago! Ú-erich leithio,
Reach! You cannot let go,
Ú-erich o nin gwanno.
You cannot leave me.
Mi naurath Orodruin
Into the fires of Orodruin
Boe hedi i Vín
The One must be cast;
Han i vangad i moe ben bango
This the price, that must be paid,
Sin eriol natha túr in úgarnen
Only thus its power will be undone.
Sin eriol ûm beleg úgannen
Only thus, a great evil, unmade.
Ú cilith 'war.
There is no other choice.
Ú men 'war
There is no other way.
Boe min mebi.
One of you must take it,
Boe min bango.
One of you must pay.
Dannen le
You have fallen.
A ú-erin le regi
And you cannot reach you.
Rang ail le iestannen
Every step I willed you on,
Lû ail le tegin na hen.
Every moment I lead you to this.
Gwannach o innen ului
You never left my mind,
Ú lû erui, ului.
Not once, not ever.
Contributed by Mila R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
GeekasaurusMike
Musically, 1:30 on is, in my opinion, the most important in the trilogy. If you read the Silmarillion, all of Middle Earth is based on the Music of Arnor, which the Valar (angels, basically) sing the "source code" to reality. Bad stuff happens with Melkor decides he wants his part to be greater than everyone else's, but due to his jealousy, all he can manage is endlessly braying the same note on the loudest horns (Sauron's theme through most of the movie).
Then the ring is destroyed, and with it the corruption of Sauron, and by extension Melkor, and the braying, horn theme that was prevalent in Mordor up until then suddenly resolves itself into something beautiful.
Kunasin Som
GeekasaurusMike the music of ainur not arnor, yes i really really really want silmarilion for motion can be animation of live action i don't care i really really really want to hear the music of ainur it will more epic than this
LiveWellWithTaleah
Light Chanel it's a shame the Tolkien estate is not letting go of the rights for the Silmarilion, so i don't think we'll be seeing any of the stories anytime soon. if they do make it to the big screen, PJ won't be the one filming. i believe he's retired from filming Middle Earth.
Nuvendil
Yeah, and it also falls in line with the declaration of Eru after the Music was complete, that none could compose any music that had not its root in Eru's will and any that tried to oppose him would in the end be his tool in the creation of things more wonderful than they had imagined. And that's what happens, the theme of Sauron is suddenly taken up and made into something extraordinary and womderful by the triumph of Eru's will.
Nuclearsimian
Very well put, Geek. You described it perfectly.
Ahmet
GeekasaurusMike yes 1.30 minute it is most fascinating scene
Harris Nielson
The relief you feel when the Ring sinks into the lava in Mount Doom is other-worldly
Moonyako
It’s like what Frodo felt when it was destroyed
phyfell001
The moment when Mount Doom erupts in a violent explosion, is in my opinion the most powerful moment in cinematic history. Never again will any film evoke that sense of sheer awe and spectacle in its audience.
Drake C.
Agreed... and the music that goes with it... It really made me shed tears...