Roll-roll-roll-roll,
A poem by J.R.R. Tolkien
"Roll—roll—roll—roll," is the first line of a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien that was first published within The Hobbit in 1937. The poem describes the journey the barrels will make as they return to Dorwinion, the "lands you once did know", the origin of the wine that was in the barrels. The journey described tells of the dark stream that takes the barrels out of the caverns, through the great forest, into the marshes before the Long Lake, and away to the south. Eventually the barrels will reach lands with pastures with oxen and hills with gardens, which appear to describe Dorwinion.
Initial rhyme
Roll—roll—roll—roll,
roll—roll—rolling down the hole!
Heave ho! Splash plump!
Down they go, down they bump!
History
After Bilbo Baggins had freed the Dwarves from their cells in the dungeons of the Elvenking, he had packed them in barrels awaiting shipment to the vineyards of Men. Part of shipping the barrels involved dropping them through a trapdoor into an underground stream, which carried them out of the caves and out to the Forest River on their way to Lake-town. A party of Elves came to roll the barrels to the trapdoor and as they worked they sang a song.
Background
In some early plot notes, Tolkien wrote a rough draft of the poem which is longer than the published version.
In an early draft of The Hobbit, Tolkien initially omitted the initial "brief rhyme", but wrote it in the text after cancelling the next sentence. Tolkien went on to write the rest of the poem, which, apart from some minor grammatical changes, closely resembled the published version.
Portrayal in adaptations
1977: The Hobbit (1977 film):
A version of the song titled "Rollin' Down the Hole" plays as Thorin and Company escape in the barrels and arrive in Lake-town.
1989: Hobit (1989 Slovak radio series):
One of a small handful of songs adapted from the original novel is this song. It is sung by the elven guards of the Woodland Realm while they are working their chores with the delivery barrels intended for a return journey to Lake-town.
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 29/05/2026.
