As Amazon's Lord of the Rings prequel The Rings of Power wraps up its first season later this month, they've revealed a song from the season finale with an extremely exciting vocalist. Fiona Apple sings on "Where the Shadows Lie," which was written by series composer Bear McCreary, produced by McCreary, Apple, and Andrew Slater, and engineered by Jason LaRocca and David Way. An instrumental version previously appeared in the first episode, and about the lyrics, the press release says, "As written, the poem was composed by the Free Peoples of Middle Earth about the origins of the Rings of Power and their relationship under the power of the One Ring." Stream it via Amazon below.
"The musical legacy of The Lord of the Rings brings to mind ethereal vocals carrying lyrical melodies over evocative harmonies, so it was my natural inclination to compose such a song for The Rings of Power," McCreary says. Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic ‘Ring Poem’ text, I wrote the song ‘Where the Shadows Lie’ as a theme for the titular Rings of Power, for the magic of mithril, for the sinister machinations of Sauron, and for his land of Mordor. To embody all these narrative elements into one voice is no small task, and so I am especially grateful to have collaborated with legendary singer Fiona Apple. Inarguably one of the definitive musical voices of her generation, Fiona brought new depths and narrative intention to the song’s unique combination of my haunting melody and Tolkien’s ominous text. I have been inspired by her musicality for two decades, and I could not imagine an artist better suited to bring to life the mystery, majesty, and power of this song. I am thrilled audiences can finally hear ‘Where the Shadows Lie,’a song we strategically withheld from the Season One album until now, so that it's significance would not be spoiled in the early episode."