“The Riddle of Strider” is the title of the poem containing “Not all those who wander are lost” in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
The poem appears in The Fellowship of the Ring and is presented as a verse about Aragorn, who is initially known to the hobbits as Strider. Its lines describe his hidden identity, his travels, and his eventual role in the renewal of kingship.
The best-known couplet begins, “Not all those who wander are lost,” a line frequently quoted independently from the novel. Because it is often treated as a general inspirational saying, readers may not realize that it is part of a poem about Aragorn’s heritage and destiny.
The title “The Road Goes Ever On” belongs to a different recurring song in Tolkien’s writings. “The Lay of Beren and Lúthien” and “The Song of Eärendil” are also separate poems, so they are not the source of this quotation.