J.R.R. Tolkien, known in scholarly circles as a distinguished philologist, is better known throughout the English-speaking world as the creator of an age and a world peopled by such creatures as elves and wizards and hobbits with names like Elrond, Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and Tom Bombadil.

Who was Tom Bombadil? In The Fellowship of the Ring he is described as "Master of wood, water, and hill . . . too large and heavy for a hobbit, if not quite tall enough for one of the Big People, though he made noise enough for one, stumping along with great yellow boots on his thick legs, and charging through grass and rushes like a cow going down to drink. He had a blue coat and an long brown beard; his eyes were blue and bright, and his face was a red as a ripe apple, but creased into a hundred wrinkles of laughter.

This engaging character was a friend in need to hobbits, rescuing them from the clutches of Old Man Willow and the icy touch of the Barrow Wight. He lived with the Lady Goldberry in a house under the hill and was a great teller of tales and singer of songs.

Two of the best and most rollicking of Tom's songs are included in this collection, along with verses by Bilbo, Sam Gamgee, and other hobbits. All of the verses are taken from the same Red Book of Westmarch which provided The Hobbit and the three books of The Lord of the Rings. They are chiefly concerned with the legends of the Shire and are distinguished for the wonderful rhythm and gaiety familiar to readers of Mr. Tolkien's earlier books. 

From the dust jacket flap of the first American edition