#now and for always

[lordoftheringsmusical]

Today (4 November 2024), the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings: A Musical Tale visited the Hobbiton film set featured in Peter Jackson's LotR and Hobbit trilogies ✨️

shared by Michael McBride and Alina Jenine Taber via Instagram stories on 4 November 2024

Musical highlights below the cut!

Clips by Lauren Zakrin (1), Michael McBride (4-5) and Suzanne Hannau (6) shared via Instagram stories on 4 November 2024; posted by Jeff Parker (2-3).

[nowandforalways]

Happy Spotify Wrapped, everyone. Pleased to announce that I have broken my previous record by just...a stupid amount of listens

Like I'm still trying to figure out how this happened logistically

[wolfsbane-and-nettles]

I am so unbelievably happy to say I was able to see the Lord of the Rings musical in Chicago today. It was spectacular. I saw it in 2008, and took my best friend, the Sam to my Frodo, to see it, and we dressed up for the day and everything. We’re taking the train back home now and I am so happy I was able to go there and back again.

[mischieffoal]

Attention Samfro enjoyers, here is your Now and for Always transcription, ready to go. I'm happy to share the musescore file if you'd like to transpose/add instruments/etc., just shoot me a message :)

Based on the official YouTube video from the Watermill Theatre 2023 production of Lord of the Rings a Musical Tale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suL8eUXyMx0

And a great recording from @faceofclown (thank you so much for sharing it!!)

And thank you to @nowandforalways for peer-review and ghosts of committees past in the CTS discord for pesky chord identification

[girlgeekjf-blog]

The Lord of the Rings: Now and For Always

So, I fell in love with this song, and the rest of the soundtrack for this musical, years ago. My sister discovered this video of an upcoming revival. I am DEVASTATED I can't see it in person, but so grateful for this video. I could watch it every night before bed. The cast is PERFECT.

[emeraldskulblaka]

I love that "Now and For Always" from the LotR Musical rips your heart out in every single one of its iterations.

"Now and For Always", the one and only - Sam and Frodo reminiscing about the Shire, Sam falling asleep halfway through, and Frodo curling up next to him.

"Gollum/Sméagol" - the once-hobbit, destroyed and tortured by the Ring's power, fighting a hopeless battle against himself while Sam and Frodo sleep.

"Now and For Always (Reprise)" - in Toronto, Sam walking onwards into Mordor alone and grieving for Frodo / in London previews, Sam weeping over Frodo's seemingly dead body while Rosie sings.

The unnamed reprise at Sam and Rosie's wedding - their happiness, the "biggest and best" party, and Frodo still feeling the power of the Ring, the remnants of the Morgul blade wound, unable to enjoy the peaceful Shire.

[makalauriels]

On the Instagram page for the LOTR musical at Watermill Theatre they had a video for a song and I heard "Harfoots plant" in, like, one line and got hit by the feelings. Yes, yes those are my buddies! I know them, I love them! The Harfoots get to a place where they can plant things! No longer wanderers! Also I will kill for Sam's guitar strap. The floral embroidery on that is so beautiful.

[myfairkatiecat]

Hi, Katie!!! Jasmine and/or papyrus for the Ask Game, if you want! I hope you're doing well :D

Hello Sophie! Yes, I’m doing great and I hope you are as well!

Jasmine- do you have a movie or book you loved but will never watch/read again?

Yes, actually: Prince of Egypt. Once upon a time Katie had these two younger foster sisters who Katie showed the movie too. It was great and they wanted to watch it again, and as someone who LOVES that movie, I was like, sure! But it escalated. And suddenly they were watching it every single day. And when their mother finally won the court case and they went back to their house, their mother contacted us to tell us that even though she isn’t religious she had to buy the movie just to make her kids happy!! So as you can imagine, even though I LOVE the movie, I will NEVER watch it again 😂😂😂

papyrus- if you put your ‘on repeat’ playlist on shuffle, what’s the first song that comes up? what do you like about it / associate it with?

So I just now put it on shuffle and the first song that came on was Now and for Always from the LOTR musical. I’m not surprised given how many times I replayed it over and over again soaking in the lyrics. I know that you and I are mutuals through TMBS but I’ve also always loved tolkein, and recently that particular interest snuck back up on me and said BOOM time to pay attention to me again! There’s something about the way it starts out as Sam trying to remind them of home, then becomes Sam hyping up Frodo about how amazing he is on his quest and how they’ll tell the story one day when it’s all over, and then Sam falls asleep and Frodo sings this amazing verse about how much he appreciate’s Sam’s loyalty? It’s the most beautiful thing ever, and it’s all sung in folk music style to a simple melody. So powerful and amazing and I’ve played it so much lately that I’m not surprised it was the first thing to come up!

This was fun! Thanks for the ask :)

[rafeandonlyrafe]

well 🧍‍♀️ as a reminder this blog is NOT a safe space for trump supporters but it IS a safe place for women, queers, trans ppl, people of color, undocumented people, and any marginalized group.

[nariarts]

Spent a ridiculous amount of time last night obsessively editing my hand written zines in Photoshop to take away any tiny blemishes so they were definitely readable.

Whatever. Understand or don't.

[caterjunes]

great news there is actually a musical of it! they did a Lot of very creative liberties with the plot but the music fucks (and makes me cry? shut up? i have a lot of frodo/sam feelings)

so we all agree that lord of the rings is a musical

[lordoftheringsmusical]

"Now and For Always" (The Lord of the Rings) - Michael Kurowski & Spencer Davis Milford

featuring the actor-musicians from the 2024 Chicago Shakes production!

[nowandforalways]

"Never to change, ever to share...": An off-the-rails analysis of "Now And For Always" from the Lord of the Rings musical

Good day to you, my dears.

"Now And For Always" is my favorite song of all time and has been since I first heard it at age 16. With the revival of the musical giving us a ✨whole new arrangement✨ of the song, I decided now would be as good a time as any to analyze it as a whole and take a look at a few of the changes made to see how each version accomplishes exactly what it set out to accomplish with it's storytelling from a musical perspective.

A QUICK NOTE BEFORE WE START: While in the original production of the show, "Now And For Always" is clearly diegetic (that is, the characters in the show are actually singing the song in the world of the show), it's a bit more debatable in the new production. Samwise Gamgee is a wonder, but I find it hard to imagine him schlepping an entire guitar to Mordor - this ain't Hadestown, after all (the "Wait for me"/"And I'm coming with you" thing would require an entirely separate post 😉). Regardless, for the sake of analysis and also my sanity, we are going to say that the song is 100% diegetic in both versions of the show.

Key: NA = new/revival arrangement

OA = old/original arrangement

SO

First lets take a look at what stays the same between both versions (which is most of the song, tbh) and see what can be seen. We're gonna get lightly music-y here.

This song is in 6/8 time signature, which basically just means that it's counted out in two groups of 3 notes each - 123, 456 - with a sort of slope-y feeling to it, like rising up to 3 and falling back down to 6. You can also count it in a very slow 2/2 (1, 2), with each of those being on the 1 beat and then the 4 beat of the 6/8 counting pattern. This time signature has the effect of making it slow and relaxing, but still sound Hobbit-y, in a rather country-ish way. This time signature could technically become a very fast waltz, and it does lean into a natural sort of swaying motion when you listen to it. Perfect for singing around the fire.

The rhythm of the song itself is interesting because it's very speech-like. If you try to speak the words out loud in rhythm, it doesn't actually sound that off from a typical English speaking rhythm. This makes it very easy to learn, and very easy to add your own words to, as its implied Sam and Frodo are doing as they sing it. Lassi Longren, the composer of the song, said that it wanted it to sound like an old song that the Hobbits all know and sing around the fire, and the idea of a song like this with a chorus that everybody knows and then verses that are improvised by individual singers makes a lot of sense (makes me think of, like, "The Campfire Song" from The Lightning Thief - a song that is also in 6/8 and with a very speech-like rhythmic pattern).

The chordal structure also contributes to this homey, comfortable feeling. The song is in the key of D major, which is a fairly middling key (it's the key that most pennywhistles are automatically tuned to!), and is constructed around just 3 chords, with 1 more thrown in there if you want the cadence on "strange and rare" to sound correct. This makes it extreeeeeeemely easy to play - like I can barely play guitar, but I can reasonably play this. For the music nerds, the chords are I, IV, and V, with a little vi for that one cadence I mentioned earlier. This is essentially the most basic group of chords ever created, and it seems very intentional to me - it makes the whole thing feel comfortable and familiar, like it's an old song you know, even if it's your first time hearing it (Fun fact: The Shire theme from the Peter Jackson films uses also uses this chord group!). The only this about the song that might make it tricky to sing along with is its range - it's more than an octave, which can be hard to span if you're not a practiced singer. But you know, sometimes you just gotta have that fun melodic contour. Song gets boring if it stays all within too small of a range. :P

Okay so that's all the basic musical stuff that's the same between both arrangements. Time for the differences.

The most major musical differences in the NA as I can see are: Frodo and Sam switching who is singing the higher vocal part and who has the lower part during the second chorus, different instruments being used for the solo instrumental lines, and the whole of Frodo's solo verse and chorus. These all serve the major thematic change in this moment in the NA, but I'll get to that at the end.

First, the vocal lines in the chorus. You all know how much I looooove that Frodo is always on the lower part in the original show (see this whole post I wrote about it here!), and I equally love Sam getting the higher part in the OA for this song. It fits his character and part in the song very well - he started it off, he's done the improvising bit; after one chorus of unison to make sure that Frodo has a handle on the melody, he can pop off. Young, dreamy, surprisingly poetical Sam, with his love for elves & beauty & all things that grow, gets the chance to soar, while Frodo stays lower, hanging onto the melody. It almost works like foreshadowing for their characters, with Sam audibly choosing to do so much while it seems like Frodo is just there, but Frodo's actually doing the arguably far more important part of carrying the melody.

In the NA, they are flipped - now Sam stays on the melody while Frodo pops up to the higher part, and it still works just as well. Frodo's actually been on the higher part for the whole show up to this point, cause that's just how Louis Maskell rolls (the one very significant moment where he sings a lower harmony to Sam's melody is right before he leaves at the Grey Havens, which I could probably write a whole 'nother essay about), but it doesn't screw with the character perception in the way I had initially feared. Sam starts the song, Sam's got the guitar, so Sam stays on the melody, to carry the thing through. This now leaves Frodo free to do his thing with Sam's support. And this is where I start heading into headcanon territory, but I can't help but think by the easy way he slipped into it that maybe Frodo has sung this part before. He canonically has a nice voice (the Breelanders like it so much that they make him sing "The Man In The Moon Stayed Up Too Late" twice in the book!), and it would make sense for a naturally talented singer to get enough experience singing that they are able to whip out a higher part just for fun - maybe, if they ever sang this one down at the Ivy Bush, or by the fireplace in the parlor of Bag End, this was Frodo's part. And speaking from the same character perspective, Frodo is also everything I described Sam as before - dreamy, poetical, sweet - he's just older and, at this moment, significantly more tired both mentally and physically. But, he hasn't lost his hope yet, so he can still reach down and bring out a past version of Frodo, one who could sing that part in the song.

Next, the instruments. This is pretty simple; there aren't a lot of changes, but the one significant moment is the use of a harmonica instead of a fiddle for the solo in the middle of the song. Both versions of the show have instruments associated with certain characters (harp for Arwen, whistle for Frodo, concertina for Gollum, etc.) but the NA has the advantage of having all the actors play instruments, so it becomes rather explicit. In this case, the harmonica is being played by and associated with Bilbo, and that's neat, because this is a continuation of a story that he was also a part of. The fiddle in the OA is more representative of hobbits as a whole, so it also works in context.

Aaaaand the last one, the arrangement of Frodo's verse and chorus. This one is a doozy, because this is where we will be involving my theory on the different reasons for Sam starting the song.

So, the first time I heard the NA "Now And For Always", I actually started yelling IRL "IT'S A HYMN" as soon as it got to Frodo's verse+chorus, because, well, it is. Lemme explain. The orchestrations shift from the guitar and strings of the rest of the song so that Frodo is backed primarily by the ensemble singing "Oohs" and some sort of drone bass note underneath that I can't figure out (probably like a cello or something). The tempo suddenly becomes a lot slower and a lot less "bouncy", so to speak - that 6/8 time rising and falling pattern that I described before is significantly downplayed, and there are a lot more complete rests in the music, and that gives the whole thing overall a much straighter feel. This all gives a very hymn-like effect, particularly the "ooh"s, because voices moving between chords like that in a homophonic way (that is to say, everyone changes notes at the same time) is common in chorale-style hymns, and the drone, because having something called a "pedal point" (one note held underneath multiple chords) makes the music sound a lot older and more solemn. This is in contrast to the OA, which has, while not the exact same backing in Frodo's verse+chorus (it does get slower, and more smooth and flowing in the instruments), certainly much less contrast between Frodo's bit and the rest of the song than the NA. They both do this, but the NA just a bit more emphasizes how serious Frodo is about what he's saying. It's also is a texture that we haven't heard yet in the show and won't really hear again, so it kind of demonstrates the changes going on in Frodo by this point, like he's becoming something not quite of the world (sort of like all those comments in the book about him being "clear" or having a light shining through him). From a practical standpoint, it's also because Sam had been playing the guitar this whole time, and now he has gone to bed, so no more guitar. But above all, the vibe that making it sound like a hymn gives it is reverence, and that is important for the next bit.

Hoo boy, it's extrapolation/headcanon time. I've done a lot of actual musical analysis, but there comes a point where you have to take all those things you've gleaned and start spitballing about what they mean when combined all together. Here's what I have landed in: The changes in the NA reflect a change in Sam's motivation for starting the song in the first place.

Lemme explain.

In the scene before "Now And For Always", the boys are discussing Frodo's realization that destroying the Ring means that the elves will leave, and that there will be no more magic in the world. It's as they reflect on these very big changes that Sam starts singing a song about how at least some things stay the same. NOW. In the OA, Sam and Frodo start off the song in much the same place, emotionally - they're both kind of moody and mournful, feeling shaken at the idea of everything changing in such a big way, and missing the days when they believed that stories always ended with things returning to a happy normal. Sam's line "We hobbits only really like stories that end just the way they started, don't we?" is sort of a rueful realization that they are both severely freaked out by all of this because they come from a place that values unchangingness so highly. Sam starts the song as a way to bring them both some comfort by reminding them of home. He then fills in the bit about Frodo during the second verse because Frodo mentioned special folk and great adventures, they're both so tired that everything's funny, and Sam genuinely adores Frodo and knows how brave and important what he's doing is. Frodo's verse about Sam, in turn, is sung almost like a lullaby, which makes sense, as lullabies are often directed at the person falling asleep. So Frodo sings to Sam as he falls asleep about how much he admires him right back, sort of returning the compliment, like in the book. The way he says "it's not me they'll remember, you know" just before he starts singing has this weird sort of regretful tone to it, as if Frodo has kinda always known that his would be a thankless task, and that Sam, taking charge and leading them around and taking care of them, will be the one who goes down in history as being instrumental. He has been seeing this whole time how much Sam has done for him, and he knows that in time, others will too.

In the NA, on the other hand, the vibes of the scene before the song are somewhat different. The lines do not change at all, but the attitude from each of them is different. Here, we have the exact same conversation, but Frodo is audibly more stressed about it (not to mention more audibly exhausted), and Sam, in response, is keeping his tone very neutral, almost lighthearted at times. That general vibe continues into the song, which I thought was weird at first, until I realized what Sam is doing. Frodo is very shaken by all the big changes that he sees coming, so Sam responds by reminding him about the songs that they used to sing the Ivy Bush - the ones where nothing ever really changes. He says the line from above about hobbits liking stories that end the way they started like he's reminding Frodo of a fun fact, which is that despite everything going on around him, there are still plenty of stories about heroes where things are allowed to go back to the way they were. In other words, while the OA of "Now And For Always" is two people trying to comfort themselves by singing something that reminds them of home, the NA is Sam Gamgee Is Going To Cheer Up His Best Buddy Or Die Trying, first by reminding him that plenty of things do stay the same, and then by getting a bit silly and describing Frodo as one of the heroes (who, I will remind you, are allowed to go home unchanged). He goes until he sees a sign that he has succeeded somewhat in his quest - remember my headcanon about Frodo singing the higher part being indicative of his old self shining through? That could certainly be a signal to Sam that his little idea worked. More likely, the fact that Frodo starts waxing poetic about plum cake (which is so valid of him, tbh) when a few minutes ago he had to be ordered to sit down and eat something is also a sign to Sam that Frodo feels better, at least for the moment. So he feels alright to go to sleep. And then Frodo sings his part. And THAT'S why the reverent tone I mentioned earlier is so important. Because it makes it seem like Frodo also realizes, in this moment, what Sam has just been doing, and what Sam has been doing this whole time. The pauses in the music make it seem like he's coming to awareness, step by step, of just how much Sam has done for him, and the only possible emotional response for something that earth-shatteringly loving is reverence. And THAT'S why the NA ending works so gosh darn well - it gets across everything that Frodo is thinking and feeling in this moment with the music as well as the lyrics.

So, yeah. I don't have, like, much of a conclusion for all this. These are just a bunch of things that I observed about these two songs and then my brain running absolutely buckwild with extrapolating conclusions from there. And a lot of this is my own interpretation of what I hear, so if you thought something different, that's totally fine! Also, this is entirely based on only being able to hear what's going on, so if you've seen the show and I got the vibes super off for part of it, please let me know. :)

Thank you for reading, and I hope to see you around! Heyday!

EDIT: The more I think about it and try to feel it in my body, I might call the time signature a very fast 3/4. Regardless, all my points still stand. Just wanna cover all my musical bases. :)

[mischieffoal]

A fan animatic/recording/extra verses of Now and for Always, based on the Watermill 2023 production of Lord of the Rings: a Musical Tale :)

I imagine our four main hobbits finding a quiet spot on the Field of Cormallen, away from all the celebrating, and having a little campfire as they think about the journey home, and singing a song to each other.

Happy Tolkien's birthday, @reallyhardy !!!

I hope you like it, I showed it to my mum and she said "and are you planning to marry this person?" but this is just what happens when you give me three months to do a thing in. I spend all of those months doing it. And having an excellent fabulous time doing so.

I was already planning on doing something like this eventually, and then you said that you loved the "besties forever" vibes of our four hobbits, the "siblingy" vibe of Merry and Pippin, and Samfrosie (good), and I though that this song could be exactly that. Well. I thought I'd just write some new verses. Then I thought I could record it. Then I thought I could write some harmonies. Then...

P.S. Let me know when you're planning to post the last chapter of Summer's Last Party and I can record Pippin's new verses if you want to add them into the fic ;)

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

everyone say in the tags what their current custom discord status is

[kiwi]

everybodys gotta get back into the practice of using pseudonyms online... i remember the time of screen names where u never ever told anyone ur real name and that was just understood as basic internet safety. plus having a screen name is fun because sometimes it sticks so well that it becomes part of ur identity that u can use in whatever facet of ur life you choose. it rocks to pick your own name