This song, Use Well the Days, was written for the ROTK end credits. You wonāt find it anywhere in the soundtrack- It was cut after Into the West took its place. (this recording may not be the āfinal draftā of the song, either.) Just like Into the West, it was composed by Howard Shore and sung by Annie Lennox, with lyrics by Fran Walsh.
Use Well the Days is about Frodo bidding his final farewell to Samā¦. thanking him, blessing him, and hoping the rest of his life in Middle Earth will be happy and peaceful.Ā
lyrics:
round the corner there may wait a new road or a secret gate and though I have passed them by a day will come I will take the hidden paths that run west of the moon and east of the sun Iām glad that you are here with me, here at the end of all things.
night too shall be beautiful and blessed and its fear will pass I must leave, must cross the Sea the love you gave is all I take with me use well the days use well the days turn your face to the green world use well the days
seven stars and seven stones and one white tree from all the sound it seems use well the days use well the days turn your face to the green world use well the days
and itās based on Frodoās version of Upon The Heart The Fire is Red:
Still round the corner there may wait A new road or a secret gate; And though I oft have passed them by, A day will come at last when I Shall take the hidden paths that run West of the Moon, East of the Sun.
I honest to god wish this had been used instead of Into The West. Donāt get me wrong, I love Into The West with all my heart, but if I heard the lines āIām glad youāre here with me, here at the end of all thingsā immediately followed by āthe love you gave is all I take with meā right after watching RotK I wouldāve straight-up dropped dead.
I know what you meanā¦I personally love Into the West more but I also love the idea of Return of the King ending, not with a huge showstopping song like Into the West, but with a humble Shire-y song like this. Frodoās version of the Last Goodbye.
Howard Shore has said in interviews that his favorite parts to score were never the epic scenes but the the small, intimate moments between characters, especially between Frodo and Sam. Heād wanted the last song to soundĀ ālike it belonged in the Shire.ā And yeah, this song does sound far more humble and hobbit-y than the elven Into the West.Ā
But Into the West was also written for a young friend of the crew who died of cancer during the production of ROTKā¦and when you listen to it you can hear that very real grief and pain. Into the West wasnāt just about Frodo passing over the sea, but the death of someone the filmmakers knew.
I almost feel like ROTK needed to end with both songs? Because theyāre equal and opposite.
Into the West is sung to the person crossing the sea.
Use Well the Days is sung to the person who was left behind.Ā
I like this, but then I also like āInto The Westā (which has associations for me as well).
Since āReturn of the Kingā seemed to have about five endings before the credits rolled, they might at least have used both songsā¦
just moving along like everyone else 