Elves and Music

[Andsigil]

If elves still existed and made songs, then they would live in Ireland:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG6bi04-cUA

My young love said to me my mother won't mind,
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind,
He went away from me and this he did say,
'It will not be long love till our wedding day.'

He went away from me and he moved through the fair,
And slowly I watched him move here and move there,
He went his way homeward with one star awake,
As the swan in the evening moves over the lake.

The people were saying no two were e'er wed
But one has a sorrow that never was said,
And I smiled as she passed with her goods and her gear,
And that was the last that I saw of my dear.

I dreamt last night that my young love came in,
He came in so sweetly, his feet made no din;
He stepped up beside me, and this he did say,
'It will not be long love, till our wedding day.'

[Pitchwife]

*sigh of yearning*
Thanks for the link! Makes me regret very much that I probably won't have the means and/or time to go there anywhere in the near future - but it also conjured up fond memories of Wales, which is very similar in some places. And most of the video would also have fitted very nicely into the 'I see Middle-earth'-thread.

If elves still existed and made songs, then they would live in Ireland

Actually, if we take Tolkien's word that the Shire would be roughly in the position of Oxfordshire on a map of modern Europe, that would put the Grey Havens more or less on the western coast of Ireland. So if any of the Firstborn still linger on the shores of our world, that would indeed be the most likely place for them!
Which reminds me of something else*. In many regions of Germany (and possibly other European countries as well?), we have folk tales about elves, dwarves, brownies or other faerish beings leaving the country in large numbers. The reasons given for this exodus vary - sometimes it's us humans growing too numerous and filling all the formerly quiet places, sometimes it's the spreading of Christianity and the sound of church bells which the fairies couldn't stand - , but most of the stories involve a ferryman who shipped the emigrants across a great river and was rewarded in gold or silver enchanted to appear as dirt or leaves at first sight. Quite often the river is the Rhine, meaning that the exodus was headed westwards.
So if the fairies emigrated from central/continental Europe and kept moving westwards, where would they eventually end up (short of sailing across the Great Sea)? In the British Isles and Ireland.

*(I have a sort of phantom memory of mentioning this on another thread before, but no idea where and when this could have been.)

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

So if the fairies emigrated from central/continental Europe and kept moving westwards, where would they eventually end up (short of sailing across the Great Sea)? In the British Isles and Ireland.

Actually, you have just described the Celtic migration across Europe. Eventually, they were pushed by Germanic tribes from Europe and Britain, and the last of them eventually settled in Ireland, Scotland and Wales -- were, of course, all the best faery stories are told.

[mark12_30]

Originally Posted by Andsigil

If elves still existed and made songs, then they would live in Ireland:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG6bi04-cUA

My young love said to me my mother won't mind,
And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind,
He went away from me and this he did say,
'It will not be long love till our wedding day.'

He went away from me and he moved through the fair,
And slowly I watched him move here and move there,
He went his way homeward with one star awake,
As the swan in the evening moves over the lake.

The people were saying no two were e'er wed
But one has a sorrow that never was said,
And I smiled as she passed with her goods and her gear,
And that was the last that I saw of my dear.

I dreamt last night that my young love came in,
He came in so sweetly, his feet made no din;
He stepped up beside me, and this he did say,
'It will not be long love, till our wedding day.'

Sounds like you've been reading Tapestry.

[Galin]

Great song by the way. Some other versions...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr_hhkY4Bnk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdrqkMvCx3I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy3uG_MhNxc

Just a few.

[Guinevere]

What sounds most "Elvish" to me is Enya's music, and many of her songs. (I discovered her only thanks to "May it be" and "Aniron" in the Fellowship movie!)

Especially "Exile" seems to me connected with Elvish sea-longing, also because of the lyrics:

"My light shall be the moon
and my path - the ocean.
My guide the morning star
as I sail home to you."

(Although the video to the youtube clip suggests something quite different, but I heard the song without that first)

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Guinevere

What sounds most "Elvish" to me is Enya's music, and many of her songs. (I discovered her only thanks to "May it be" and "Aniron" in the Fellowship movie!)

I agree wholeheartedly, and I'd rep you if it would allow me to. I've been an Enya fan since the Shepherd Moons album of the early '90s.
As you said, many of her songs have an Elvish feel. "Paint the Sky With Stars" sounds perfect for the voyage of Gandalf, Elrond and Co. to the Blessed Realm.

Suddenly before my eyes / Hues of indigo arise / With them how my spirit sighs / Paint the sky with stars / Only night will ever know / Why the heavens never show / All the dreams there are to know / Paint the sky with stars / Who has paced the midnight sky? / So a spirit has to fly / As the heavens seem so far / Now who will paint the midnight star?

[Eomer of the Rohirrim]

How did Tolkien's Elves become associated with that style of music?