Hello! the last couple of days i've been working on this quenya translation of Bilbo's last song, and i wanted to share it with you.
I must warn about some details first: I prioritized the metric and musicality of the original poem (iambic and trochaic character, occasional alliteration, etc) over textual accuracy. I tried to take these diferenencies to the minimum posible, but you'll notice some changes, not few. So here i'll include the quenya version, and the changed english version, so you can compare it to the original and easily spot the diferences. There are also some licenses regarding accents, no more than two i think, you may notice them. Please feel free to contribute and share ideas to make this better, there are some passages that i myself find too suspicious haha.
I métima lindë Bilbova
Aurë vanwa, hendu necë,
Mal ando lendë caita epë.
Namárië meldor! ni hlar’ i ello.
I cirya tulë et eärello.
Vingë fán’ ar falmë sindë;
Maranwë inya han isilmë.
Vingë singw’ ar súlë fairë;
Ni hlára i óm’ eäro airë.
Namárië meldor! na Rómë i súrë,
Nar manwar círar, na Númë i súlë.
Fuiner caitar ompa sin,
Nu hellë luinë vë i rin,
Mal lónar ëar anar pella
Yannar ortan apa metta;
Númë Númëo nóri nár,
Ya fúmë sérë ná vë már.
Han i metta cópo nán,
Rastaina eressëa elennen na
I londi vany’ ar fairë ar,
Isilden hwald’ enwin’ ëar.
Ai! Ciryanya! I númë cestanyë,
Oroni ar nóri amanyë.
I elen cenin or tyulmarya
Yallum’ Endórë, namárië.
Changed english version:
Days (are) gone, eyes (are) dim
But a long journey lies before,
Farwell friends! i hear the call.
The ship comes out of the sea.
Foam (is) white and waves (are) grey;
My fate (is) beyond moonlight.
Foam (is) salt and wind (is) free,
I hear the voice of the sacred sea.
Farwell friends! The wind is east,
The sails are ready, the soul is west.
Shadows lie before now,
Under the sky blue like the dew,
But there are islands beyond the sun
To which i raise before the end,
West of west are lands
Where sleep is rest like (in) home.
Im beyond the end of the harbour,
Guided by a lonely star to
The lands fair and free and,
Old seas bathed by the moon.
Oh! My ship! i seek the west,
Mountains and lands blessed.
The stars i see over her mast.
Finally middle-earth, farwell.