Which Tolkien work contains the poem “The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late”?

The poem “The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late” appears in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.

The collection was published in 1962 and contains sixteen poems. Its title poem concerns Tom Bombadil, the enigmatic character who also appears in The Fellowship of the Ring. The volume presents the poems as works associated with Hobbit lore and traditions, rather than as a straightforward narrative continuation of The Lord of the Rings.

“The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late” is Tolkien’s Middle-earth version of a traditional nursery rhyme. It is related to the rhyme later reflected in The Hobbit as “The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon,” but the two titles should not be treated as the same poem.

The collection includes playful, folkloric, and more solemn pieces. Tolkien used this mixture to suggest the depth of songs and stories circulating beyond the main novels.