This is an old revision of the document!
These songs from The Hobbit were sung by goblins chasing Thorin and company to the trees, after their escape from Goblin-town (“Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire” chapter).
Fifteen birds in five fir-trees, their feathers were fanned in a fiery breeze! But, funny little birds, they had no wings! O what shall we do with the funny little things? Roast 'em alive, or stew them in a pot; fry them, boil them and eat them hot?
Burn, burn tree and fern! Shrivel and scorch! A fizzling torch To light the night for our delight, Ya hey! Bake and toast ’em, fry and roast ’em! till beards blaze, and eyes glaze; till hair smells and skins crack, fat melts, and bones black in cinders lie beneath the sky! So dwarves shall die, and light the night for our delight, Ya hey! Ya-harri-hey! Ya hoy!
The following words (listed alphabetically) are required for translation:
English | Nûrlâm | Etymology and comments |
---|---|---|
alive | kîbarz | DS “kîb-” (to live), “kîbum” (life) + LOS adverb ending “-arz” |
and | agh | TK, RI |
bake | mazg- | NL < LOS “mûz” (bread) < Quenya “masta” < Etym. “MBAS”, “MASAG” (knead) |
beard | thârg | NL, merging Khuzdul “tarâg” (beard) with Sindarin “fang” < Etym. “SPÁNAG” |
beneath | lata | EL (under) |
bird | aig | NL < Gnomish “aigli”, Sindarin “aew” < Etym. “AIWÊ” (small bird) |
black | mor | LOS < Sindarin |
blaze | ??? | |
boil | zugsh- | NL < HG “zu-” (to cook, boil, stew) < LOS and all major dialects “zau-” < MERP < Albanian “ziej” |
bone | takh | NL < SV “tach” |
breeze | zûzd | NL < Quenya “hwesta” < Etym. “SWES” (noise of blow or breathing) |
but | ap | NL < Quenya “apa” |
burn | ghâsh | LL < TK (fire) |
cinder | hîsht | LOS (ash, dust) < SV |
crack | grik- | NL < Qenya “kirkis”, compare with TK “grish” in PN “Grishnákh” |
delight | zrî | LOS < SV (sadistic pleasure) |
die | ghur- | DS (Moria) < Sindarin “guru” < Etym. “ÑGUR” |
do | kramp- | LOS |
dwarves | gazat-hai | EL < Khuzdul “khazad” |
eat | throkh- | SV < LL “throqu-” |
eye | hont | LOS < Quenya and Sindarin “hend” < Etym. “KHEN-D-E” |
fan | ??? | the verb “to fan” means “blow” (wind, fire), “winnow” (grain) |
fat | tôm | NL < LOS “tûm” < MB, SV “tû”, probably from Sindarin “tûg” < Etym. “TIW” |
feather | pozg | NL < Noldorin “pesseg” (pillow) |
fern | filg | NL < Gnomish “fileg”, Qenya “filqe” |
fiery | hûr | not literal translation: NL < TK PN “Mauhúr”, probably from Noldorin “hûr” (vigour, fiery spirit) < Etym. “KHOR” literally would be “ghâshûrz” |
fifteen | nukrâk | NL |
fir | drodh | ON, probably from MERP “brodh” < Albanian |
five | krâk | LL |
fizzling | ??? | |
for | ûr | EL |
fry | ||
funny | ||
glaze | ||
hair | ||
have | ||
hot | ||
in | ||
lie | ||
light | ||
little | ||
melt | ||
night | ||
no | ||
or | ||
our | ||
pot | ||
roast | ||
scorch | ||
shall | ||
shrivel | ||
skin | ||
sky | ||
smell | ||
so | ||
stew | ||
their | ||
they | ||
thing | ||
till | ||
toast | ||
torch | ||
tree | ||
we | ||
what | ||
wing | ||
with |