The Road is one of Tolkien’s central symbols.
The Road goes ever on. It begins at the door. It carries the ordinary person into the mythic world. And it never ends…
"The Road Goes Ever On" is a walking song in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium, fictionally composed by Bilbo Baggins. The poem appears in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, with lyrics that vary slightly depending on the context of the journey.
The most famous version, recited by Bilbo when leaving the Shire in The Fellowship of the Ring, reads:
The Road goes ever on and on Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, And I must follow, if I can, Pursuing it with eager feet, Until it joins some larger way Where many paths and errands meet. And whither then? I cannot say.
In The Return of the King, an older Bilbo sings a reflective variant about turning toward the "lighted inn" (death) after his journey:
The Road goes ever on and on Out from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, Let others follow it who can! Let them a journey new begin, But I at last with weary feet Will turn towards the lighted inn, My evening-rest and sleep to meet.