Why Don’t Go Drinking With Hobbits Endures the Test of Time (Patreon)

I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but Don’t Go Drinking With Hobbit is an amazing album. It’s not just because I love hobbits or that I think the songwriting and instrumentation are just brilliant. Those are the bonus items. What makes it a great album is that it is a true folk album.

The basic concept behind the album is that it asks what kind of folk songs might be heard in Hobbiton, at the Prancing Pony, or under the Party Tree? What songs were sung in hobbit holes throughout the Shire?

These are not songs about the events from Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit books. These are songs for everyday people, working folk. These are songs for people like you and me (tho maybe a little shorter). These are the type of songs that you might sing while drinking with hobbits.

That is what I am most proud of.

Yes. I love that I invited a whole bunch of amazing musicians from around the world to sing and perform on this album. I love that Rie Sheridan Rose wrote lyrics for over half the album. I love that I was able to set those lyrics to some compelling, fun melodies.

However, I also love that we wrote a bunch of really good folk songs. Songs like “Said the Horse to the Hobbit” are not gonna win any awards for songwriting. But it will capture the tradition. It’s a list song, one of the oldest song traditions out there. It’s simple and delightful and full of visual imagery.

“Scouring the Shire” stands up as as a hobbit rebel song as it captures the scary excitement of having to fight back against an evil invader, bent on oppressing the hobbits.

“Ring of Hope” is a song of friendship. “A Well-Dressed Hobbit” captures the delight of getting dressed to go out. “A-Working in the Garden” shows the hobbits's joy for farming. The list goes on and on.

I love performing Hobbit Drinking Songs at shows. I love hearing people sing and shout along to songs that I had some small role in creating.

But it really isn’t about me. It’s about all the people who volunteered to sing along on the album and all of the people who sing along at shows because they too decided they wanted to go drinking with hobbits. That is why this album continues to endure.