Desolation

“I see fire”

lyrics

Ed Sheeran wrote and performed this song on the very day he first saw the second installment of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. Read the story on Jackson’s Facebook page, where Jackson explains:

“This is his direct emotional response to seeing The Desolation of Smaug, written and performed on the same day he saw the movie.”

While listening to Sheeran, I was immediately struck by how Tolkien’s story translates so powerfully, from literal story into universal metaphors, the depths of human sorrow and courage. Sheeran captures Tolkien’s power expertly in his musical interpretation, which bodes well for the film, I suppose (joining Song of the Lonely Mountain, Into the West and May It Be). We pre-ordered the soundtrack on iTunes.

Sheeran is new to me, yet this song has me wondering how much I might like his other work. Wow. For another Ed Sheeran song, give Small Bump a listen (lyrics), and watch Everything has Changed (with Taylor Swift).

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Update: Here’s Susanna, a dwarf princess, at the midnight premier of The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug, at the Warren Theater in Moore.

PS: Susanna finished sewing her cape, several weeks in preparation, on the very day of the premier!