The 'Lament for Boromir', a beautiful poem by Tolkien to a warrior fallen in combat

Boromir is a well-known character from "The Lord of the Rings", the great epic work by British writer J.R.R. Tolkien.

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Eldest son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, Boromir was Captain of the White Tower of Ecthelion. He was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring formed in Rivendell and met his death at the hands of Saruman's Uruk-hai near the hill of Amon Hen, beside the River Anduin, a scene very well represented in the film version of "The Fellowship of the Ring" directed by Peter Jackson (2001).

Tolkien wrote an elegy about this warrior, the "Lament for Boromir," which appears in Chapter 1 of Book Three of The Two Towers. In the book, this elegy is sung by Aragorn (the first and third stanzas) and Legolas (the second). In the poem, Boromir's companions ask the North Wind, the West Wind, and the South Wind for news of the warrior. As the song ends, Gimli misses the barrage of the East Wind, to which Aragorn replies, "In Minas Tirith they endure the East Wind, but they do not ask it for tidings." To the east of Minas Tirith was Minas Morgul, one of the strongholds of Mordor.

In 1996, a few years before the first of Peter Jackson's “Lord of the Rings” films was released, the British folk music group Brocelïande released an excellent album, “The Starlit Jewel”, featuring thirteen tracks setting Tolkien poems to music. Track number 9 was “Lament for Boromir”, which you can hear here (it’s my favorite version of the poem):

In 2000, the Danish musical group Tolkien Ensemble published another different version of the "Lament for Boromir" on their album "A Night in Rivendell":

In 2017, the American group Clamavi De Profundis released their own version of the poem on Youtube:

You can read the text of the poem here:

Through Rohan over fen and field where the long grass grows
The West Wind comes walking, and about the walls it goes.
'What news from the West, O wandering wind, do you bring to me tonight?
Have you seen Boromir the Tall by moon or by starlight?'
'I saw him ride over seven streams, over waters wide and grey;
I saw him walk in empty lands, until he passed away
Into the shadows of the North. I saw him then no more.
The North Wind may have heard the horn of the son of Denethor.'
'O Boromir! From the high walls westward I looked afar,
But you came not from the empty lands where no men are.

From the mouths of the Sea the South Wind flies, from the sandhills and the stones;
The wailing of the gulls it bears, and at the gate it moans.
'What news from the South, O sighing wind, do you bring to me at eve?
Where now is Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve.'
'Ask not of me where he doth dwell-so many bones there lie
On the white shores and the dark shores under the stormy sky;
So many have passed down Anduin to find the flowing Sea.
Ask of the North Wind news of them the North Wind sends to me!'
'O Boromir! Beyond the gate the seaward road runs south,
But you came not with the wailing gulls from the grey sea's mouth.

From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls;
And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls.
'What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to me today?
What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away.'
'Beneath Amon Hen I heard his cry. There many foes he fought.
His cloven shield, his broken sword, they to the water brought.
His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest;
And Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, bore him upon its breast.'
'O Boromir! The Tower of Guard shall ever northward gaze
To Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, until the end of days.

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Photo: image from the film "The Fellowship of the Ring" (2001).