The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim was directed by Kenji Kamiyama, but it took place in the same continuity as Peter Jackson’s live-action The Lord of the Rings films. The animated feature made some obvious references to Jackson’s trilogy, such as bringing back Miranda Otto as Éowyn to introduce the story. But other allusions were more subtle, and one such reference occurred early in the film. Hama, the youngest son of King Helm Hammerhand, was shown to have an affinity for music. In contrast to his more adventurous siblings, Hama spent his time singing and playing the harp. Early in the film, Hama performed a piece of music simply referred to as “Hama’s Song” on The War of the Rohirrim‘s official soundtrack.

Performed by voice actor Yazdan Qafouri, the song described Hama’s sister, Héra, exploring the wilderness of Rohan. It included lyrics such as, “From mountaintop high cross riverbed low / To wild, whispered places she’s longing to go / Fearless she rides into the unknown.” Especially noteworthy was the first line of “Hama’s Song,” which may have sounded familiar to fans of The Lord of the Rings: “Where is the horse? Where is the rider?” Though not a direct quote, this was a clear callback to something that King Théoden said in Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which itself was a nod to a passage from J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel.

“Hama’s Song” Was Emblematic of Better Times for Rohan

In The Two Towers, Gamling helped Théoden don his armor in preparation for the Battle of Helm’s Deep. The forces of Rohan were outmatched and vastly outnumbered by Saruman’s army of Uruk-hai, so they had fallen into despair. Théoden felt that he had failed his kingdom, and he expressed doubts about his effectiveness as a leader. Gamling tried to reassure Théoden by telling him that the Rohirrim would follow their king “to whatever end.” Théoden poetically replied,

To whatever end. Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? They have passed like rain on the mountains, like wind in the meadow. The days have gone down in the west, behind the hills, into shadow. How did it come to this?

The point of Théoden’s speech was that Rohan’s glory days were in the past. Inspiring images such as a warrior bravely riding into battle were no more; instead, the Rohirrim were so desperate that peasants and children were forced to defend an abandoned fortress against overwhelming odds. “Hama’s Song” in The War of the Rohirrim had a far less sorrowful tone since the film took place at a different point in the kingdom’s history. Before the conflict with the Dunlendings, Rohan enjoyed a time of prosperity. Instead of yearning for the past as Théoden did, Hama was able to celebrate the present.

“Hama’s Song” Took Inspiration From the Novel

Both “Hama’s Song” and Théoden’s speech were inspired by J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel. In the chapter “The King of the Golden Hall” from The Two Towers, as Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli rode to Edoras, Aragorn recited an ancient song about Eorl the Young, the first King of Rohan. It began, “Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?” Like Théoden’s quote from the film, this song glorified the kingdom’s past and lamented its sad state in the present. Tolkien based this song in part on an Anglo-Saxon poem titled “The Wanderer,” the first line of which could be translated as “Where is the horse? Where is the warrior?”

“The Wanderer” also included the Old English word þēoden, meaning “prince” or “king,” which served as the basis for Théoden’s name.

A variation of “Hama’s Song” listed as the “Hearth Edit” played over The War of the Rohirrim‘s end credits, and the first line of this version referenced another Théoden quote from The Two Towers. It opened with, “Will you answer the call when red breaks the dawn?” This called to mind Théoden’s rallying cry before charging into battle alongside Aragorn at the Battle of Helm’s Deep: “Fell deeds awake. Now for wrath! Now for ruin and the red dawn!” The rest of “Hama’s Song” did not line up with Théoden’s speeches or with the song in the novel, but it brought the quote back to its musical roots, which made it a rewarding Easter egg. The plot of The War of the Rohirrim was based on a very short section of the novel, but the writers still managed to incorporate such nods to Tolkien’s work.