Into the West (song)

"Into the West"
Single by Annie Lennox
from the album The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (soundtrack)
ReleasedNovember 2003
RecordedNew Zealand
GenrePop, New age
Length4:35
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Annie Lennox, Fran Walsh, Howard Shore[1]
Producer(s)Howard Shore
Annie Lennox singles chronology
"Pavement Cracks"
(2003)
"Into the West"
(2003)
"A Thousand Beautiful Things"
(2004)

"Into the West" is a song performed by Annie Lennox, and the end-credit song of the 2003 film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It was written by Lennox, Return of the King producer and co-writer Fran Walsh, and composed and co-written by the film's composer Howard Shore.[1] The song plays in full during the closing credits of Return of the King,[1] although instrumental music from the song (which forms the theme of the Grey Havens) plays at other points during the film itself. “Into the West" was acclaimed by music critics and won Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

The song was later covered by New Zealand singers Yulia Townsend and Will Martin and American singer Peter Hollens. In 2014, German a cappella Metal band van Canto performed a cover on their fifth studio album, Dawn of the Brave.[2]

  1. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 137. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ^ "Van Canto: 'Dawn Of The Brave' Album Preview". Blabbermouth.net. 16 January 2014. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2014.