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No, your ears aren't deceiving you. A niche Lord of the Rings Easter egg was included in the newest episode of The Rings of Power – and it's a nice treat for us nerds.
In The Rings of Power season 2 episode 4, Elrond and his troops are attacked by a merciless group of Barrow-Wights. If you listen closely, the incantation, "Cold be hand and heart and bone" is being sung over the score.
The full incantation is as follows: "Cold be hand and heart and bone, and cold be sleep under stone: never more to wake on stony bed, never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead. In the black wind the stars shall die, and still on gold here let them lie, till the dark lord lifts up his hand over dead sea and withered land."
This is recited in the chapter, "Fog on the Barrow-downs," which is the eighth chapter of the first part of the novel The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings. In the chapter, a barrow-wight sings this after it traps Frodo, Sam, Pippin, and Merry.
#TROPspoilers #TheRingsofPowerBear McCreary deciding to have people ominously whisper Tolkien’s “Cold be hand and heart and bone” poem over the score for the barrow-wight scene pic.twitter.com/2xLIfMTr2kSeptember 5, 2024
It's a cool Easter egg, especially given that the last time we heard it in a live-action Tolkien venture was The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Gollum eerily recites a few lines, though with the words changed just a bit: "Cold be heart and hand and bone, cold be travelers far from home, they do not see what lies ahead when sun has failed and moon is dead."
Tolkien nerds have won yet again. Everyone say, "Thank you Bear McCreary."
The Rings of Power season 2 is streaming now. Check out our guide to The Rings of Power season 2 release schedule and our The Rings of Power season 2 review.
