The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
Lyrics: J. R. R. Tolkien
Tune: A Nursery Rhyme Undone by Steve Renard

~ There is an inn, a merry old inn 
~ beneath an old grey hill, 
~ And there they brew a beer so brown 
~ That the Man in the Moon himself came down 
~ one night to drink his fill.

~ The ostler has a tipsy cat 
~ that plays a five-stringed fiddle; 
~ And up and down he runs his bow, 
~ Now squeaking high, now purring low, 
~ now sawing in the middle. 

~ The landlord keeps a little dog 
~ that is mighty fond of jokes; 
~ When there’s good cheer among the guests, 
~ He cocks an ear at all the jests 
~ and laughs until he chokes. 

~ They also keep a hornéd cow 
~ as proud as any queen; 
~ But music turns her head like ale, 
~ And makes her wave her tufted tail 
~ and dance upon the green.

~ And O! the rows of silver dishes 
~ and the store of silver spoons! 
~ For Sunday there’s a special pair, 
~ And these they polish up with care 
~ on Saturday afternoons. 

~ The Man in the Moon was drinking deep, 
~ and the cat began to wail; 
~ A dish and a spoon on the table danced, 
~ The cow in the garden madly pranced, 
~ and the little dog chased his tail. 

~ The Man in the Moon took another mug 
~ and then rolled beneath his chair; 
~ And there he dozed and dreamed of ale, 
~ Till in the sky the stars were pale, 
~ and dawn was in the air.

~ Then the ostler said to his tipsy cat: 
~ ‘The white horses of the Moon, 
~ They neigh and champ their silver bits; 
~ But their master’s been and drowned his wits, 
~ and the Sun’ll be rising soon!’ 

~ So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle, 
~ a jig that would wake the dead: 
~ He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune, 
~ While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon: 
~ ‘It’s after three!’ he said. 

~ They rolled the Man slowly up the hill 
~ and bundled him into the Moon, 
~ While his horses galloped up in rear, 
~ And the cow came capering like a deer, 
~ and a dish ran up with the spoon.

~ Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;
~ the dog began to roar, 
~ The cow and the horses stood on their heads; 
~ The guests all bounded from their beds 
~ and danced upon the floor. 

~ With a ping and a pong the fiddle-strings broke! 
~ the cow jumped over the Moon, 
~ And the little dog laughed to see such fun, 
~ And the Saturday dish went off at a run 
~ with the silver Sunday spoon. 

~ The round Moon rolled behind the hill 
~ as the Sun raised up her head. 
~ She hardly believed her fiery eyes; 
~ For though it was day, to her surprise 
~ they all went back to bed!


Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings (pp. 159-160). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.