Who Sings The Song In The Rings Of Power Finale's Closing Credits?
(Warning: Spoilers ahead for "The Rings of Power" finale.)
"The Lord of the Rings" franchise continues to deliver songs that slap. The original trilogy of films by Peter Jackson includes a score by Howard Shore that's still in heavy rotation among fans two decades later. "The Hobbit" movies, despite their inconsistent quality, delivered a haunting rendition of "Far Over The Misty Mountains Cold," plus an Ed Sheeran song that had no reason to go as hard as it did, "I See Fire."
Now, with the first season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" drawing to a close, J.R.R. Tolkien's rather lyrical poetic writing is once again lending itself to another great song. The episode ends with a familiar voice ushering in the end credits singing with a hypnotic version of some of the trilogy's most famous words. Who sings that closing song? It's Fiona Apple!
A familiar lyric
The "Criminal" and "Sleep to Dream" musician sings audiences out just after an ominous final shot shows Sauron, newly revealed to be the hunky smith Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), standing on a jagged cliffside across from the still-exploding Mount Doom. A shot of the three newly-crafted rings dissolves into a shot of the man's eye, and a zoom out reveals he's now dressed in a shadowy cloak as he stares with determination into the distance.
Apple's words, which are pure and clear but still quite downbeat and foreboding, perfectly complement that final image. In case you need to brush up on your Middle-earth history, here are the lyrics, which come from the epigraph of "The Lord of the Rings":
"Three rings for the elven kings under the sky
Seven for the dwarf-lords in their halls of stone
Nine for mortal men doomed to die
One for the dark lord on his dark throne
In the land of Mordor
Where the shadows lie
Where the shadows lie.
One ring to rule them all
One ring to find them
One ring to bring them all
And in the darkness bind them.
Apple's contribution is perfectly fitting
Apple then repeats the middle stanza once more as the credits end. This song was actually announced last week, along with the revelation that we've already heard the instrumental version, by series composer Bear McCreary, earlier this season. In a statement, Amazon Studios worldwide head of music Bob Bowen revealed: "The instrumental version of 'Where the Shadows Lie' appeared in the first episode, with the intention of using the same motif for the last episode of the show's premiere season."
McCreary himself also praised Apple's appearance on the soundtrack, saying, "I am so especially grateful to have collaborated with legendary singer Fiona Apple. 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."
The Platinum-certified, beloved alternative artist only sporadically releases new music, most recently dropping the album "Fetch the Bolt Cutters," which went on to win Best Alternative Music Album at the Grammys in April 2020. Her appearance on a soundtrack is even more rare, making this perfectly unsettling contribution to the end of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" all the more special.