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Exeter's Ring Hunt song and clues EXPLAINED!!!

ExeterKered

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Who Last Saw the Ring?

It's been requested by several people that I explain all of the hints contained in my clues to the Ring Hunt; and considering the effort I put into writing it, I thought it might be worthwhile to explain the song in its entirety. So, here you are!

EDIT: I've also posted the song in its entirety in the message below, for easy reference!

Notes on the Song (and the Location of the Ring)
  • First off, the song was meant to have been written by Sam Gamgee. The structure, meter, and rhyme scheme are identical to Sam's song, "Troll sat alone on a seat of stone", which he sang to the Fellowship at the camp of the Stone Trolls. [LotR, 'Flight to the Ford']
  • The subject of the song (the Tree-man) is a direct reference to the tale that Sam told in the Green Dragon, about his cousin Hal seeing a giant Tree-man beyond the North Moors of the Shire, "walking seven yards to a stride, if it was an inch." [LotR, 'The Shadow of the Past']
  • The meaning of the song is to follow the Tree-man on his one-day journey, from the beginning of his path in the Hills of Evendim, through the Shire to his final destination where the Ring was hidden.
  • The location of the Ring was at the willow tree by the Brandywine River (just southeast of the quarry at Scary), where the Tree-man gave the Ring to the willow for their engagement!

Verse I
  • "hills of stone": the Emyn Uial (Hills of Evendim)
  • "the ancient king": Elendil
  • "had built his throne": at Annúminas
  • "fields of green": Greenfields, in the north of the Shire, near the North Moors
  • "seven yards to a stride": a direct quote from Sam's story about his cousin Hal seeing a walking tree in The Lord of the Rings, 'The Shadow of the Past'
  • "Wide now! Hide now!": the strides are wide because the Tree-man is huge! Run and hide!

Verse II
  • "the old oat grange": Oatbarton, which means "oat farm-town". A grange is a granary, or in British usage, a farm or farmstead. The term barton is synonymous with grange, meaning a farmstead, or literally a "barley town" (from Old English beretun).
  • "a swath through the field, which had ruined the yield": the Tree-man's large footsteps had cut a huge path through the oat fields, ruining the crop
  • "Quirk there! Irk there!": a quirk is something strange or abnormal, and to irk is to irritate, as the ruined field irritated the townsfolk

Verse III
  • "The sun was aflame": the sun was getting red as it neared the horizon
  • "the place where the badgers had lent their name": Brockenborings (also called Brockenbores in some places in the text). "Brock is an old word for the badger" [Tolkien, 'Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings'], from Old English brocc. So Brockenborings means "Badger-burrows", a descriptive term for hobbit holes.
  • "'neath the pale blue sky": the sky was growing pale in the late hour
  • "'I'm not far from home now'": a hint that we're on a journey, and nearing the destination
  • "Roam now! Gloam now!": gloam (or gloaming) is an old word for "twilight" (from Old English *glom and glomung). Literally, "it's time to hurry, for twilight is coming!"

Verse IV
  • "So he crossed with a will": with a determined purpose, for he's in a hurry
  • "over trickling rill": rill is an old word for "brook, stream, or rivulet"; and there is one between Brockenborings and Scary on the MCME map
  • "past the town to the old rock hill": the town of Scary, near which was the quarry. "Scary. A meaningless name in the Shire; but since it was in a region of caves and rock-holes (III 301), and of a stone-quarry (marked on the map of the Shire in Volume I) it may be supposed to contain English dialectal scar 'rocky cliff.'" [Tolkien, 'Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings']
  • "piled the stone in ricks": rick is an old word for "heap, pile, or stack"
  • "Lorry! Glory!": the word lorry originally meant "a long, flat-bed wagon used to transport goods", before the modern British usage referring to motor vehicles with that purpose

Verse V
  • "he strode past the ledge": he passed by the quarry ledge
  • "the brown water's edge": he came to the edge of the Brandywine River (the hobbits' name for the Baranduin, meaning "Brown River"), which forms the eastern border of the Shire
  • "Pillow! Billow!": the only nonsense words in the song, because they're literally the only two words I could find that rhyme with "willow". However, they could loosely describe the willow tree, so it's not complete nonsense!
  • "plighted his troth": an archaic phrase meaning "to pledge one's truth", to promise to marry, become engaged

So there you are! That's probably more explanation than anyone was expecting, but you have it nonetheless. I hope you enjoyed the song (and the Ring Hunt) as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thanks everyone for your appreciation!
 
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Tree Walked Alone

Tree walked alone from the hills of stone,
Where the ancient king had built his throne;
And soon he was seen in the fields of green
Strolling seven yards to a stride now.
Wide now! Hide now!
Old Tree-man was spotted there all alone
Walking seven yards to a stride now.

His footsteps ranged to the old oat grange,
And the townsfolk there witnessed something strange:
A swath through the field, which had ruined the yield
Of many a month of work there.
Quirk there! Irk there!
Some devil had wrought this maddening change,
And ruined their months of work there.

The sun was aflame as the Tree-man came
To the place where the badgers had lent their name;
He walked on by 'neath the pale blue sky,
And said, "I'm not far from home now."
Roam now! Gloam now!
"I won't have a rest 'til I've reached my aim,
For I'm not far from home now."

So he crossed with a will over trickling rill;
And he sped past the town to the old rock hill,
Where the folk with their picks piled the stone in ricks
To be carted away from the quarry.
Lorry! Glory!
O, his heart was filled with a marvelous thrill
When he saw he'd come to the quarry.

Now he strode past the ledge over heath and sedge,
'Til he came quite nigh to the brown water's edge;
'Twas there and then he proposed with a grin
To his most beloved willow.
Pillow! Billow!
Yes, he plighted his troth with a ring and a pledge
To his most beloved willow!
 
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