Really? Honestly? Seriously? I was already pretty emotional just with the anticipation for The Battle of the Five Armies, then the release of the audio track for this song happened, and then Billy Boyd had to go and make a music video? Do you get that I am running out of metaphors to describe the exaggerated flow of tears? Brace yourselves, folks. As Treebeard put it, I am about to “release the river”.

A candle in the darkness at the end of a day, signifying for us the end of a long journey that started with a fellowship. The Fellowship. “It began long ago”—thirteen years ago for us. And Billy Boyd begins to sing, as if the first time we saw him sing was just yesterday, not eleven years ago. We see images from the upcoming movie. Anticipation. We see Billy Boyd singing while strumming a guitar (which I did not know he could do, much less do well). Suddenly, we see images from Fellowship. Nostalgia. More images from Two Towers and Return of the King. Remembrance. All these images interposed with more from The Hobbit films. All six Middle-Earth movies featured in this epic music video.

And then they had to take it one step further and show behind-the-scenes footage. Cast and crew embracing, having fun, then embracing again. Footage not just from The Hobbit movies, but old images from the original trilogy when the hobbits looked so young. I know what it’s like to say goodbye to a movie series—I’m not afraid to admit that I wept through most of the last Harry Potter movie, in part because I knew that there wouldn’t be any more. It truly was the end of an era then, and it truly is the end of an era now. I am going to a movie theatre in three short weeks knowing full well then that I am about to see the last Middle-Earth movie. But seeing the last movie doesn’t hold a candle to living it. I might know how painful it is to strike a set after months of rehearsals preparing for a small community theatre musical production. But can you imaging saying, waving, embracing goodbye to people with whom you’ve passionately worked on this same project for years?

Talk about a “last goodbye”.

There and Back Again… A Hobbit’s Tale by Bilbo Baggins. The Lord of the Rings by Frodo Baggins.

And the book closes. Fade to black.

Please share your feels in the comments below. That’s what they’re there for.