The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late
The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late is a Hobbit poem composed by Bilbo Baggins.
History
In The Prancing Pony at Bree Frodo jumps on a table and recites "a ridiculous song" invented by Bilbo.[1]
Form
The poem is in thirteen ballad-like five-line stanzas, introducing each element in turn: "the Man in the Moon" himself, the ostler's "tipsy cat that plays a five-stringed fiddle", the little dog, the "hornéd cow"
Portrayals in adaptations
1981: BBC Radio's The Lord of the Rings:
- Frodo sings the song in Bree. Speeding up at every line, he becomes nigh unintelligable near the end.
2002: Vivendi's The Fellowship of the Ring:
- Frodo sings an abridged version at the Prancing Pony.
Other media
A musical version of this poem was recorded by the Tolkien Ensemble on their album A Night in Rivendell.
Inspiration
In the context of the legendarium, this song is the imagined original (by back formation) ditty that is derived to 'our time' in the simplified nursery rhyme "Hey Diddle Diddle".[source?]
The title of this version is given in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.
