RT Bette Midler stuns Stephen Colbert with a hilarious ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ twist inspired by Lord of the Rings
Bette Midler is singing Stephen Colbert’s praises on The Late Show.
The Grammy-winning actress and singer performed a special Lord of the Rings–inspired rendition of her hit song “Wind Beneath My Wings” that she whipped up especially for Colbert to thank him for his stewardship of the show ahead of it ending next May.
“I wrote a little something for you. It’s kind of a proclamation,” Midler said on Tuesday’s episode of The Late Show. “I have a long reputation for singing certain talk show hosts off the air.”Bette Midler and Stephen Colbert on ‘The Late Show’.
Scott Kowalchyk/CBS
In response, Colbert brought out a photograph of Midler with Johnny Carson, whom she famously sang with on his penultimate episode of The Tonight Show in 1992.
“I sang Krusty the Clown off, too,” she added. “I was in a Simpsons once. I was thrilled with it. Thrilled! Anyway, so this is what I wrote, but I have to find my note and I haven’t sung in a long time.” And then, to the tune of “Wind Beneath My Wings,” Midler began.
“It must have been cold here / At The Late Show,” she sang. “Despite the high ratings and awards / You need a gig that’s more worthwhile / Now that you’re more in demand than Epstein’s file.”
She continued, “Did you ever know that you’re my Frodo? / You stand for what’s right with wit and class / Thank you / And I hold you high as the Great Eagles / Because you never kissed the orange ass.”
When Colbert reached out to give her a hug, Midler stopped him. “Wait, wait,” she said. “This is the best part!”
She continued, “Fly, fly, fly away / Like Gandalf’s golden wings / Thank you / Thank God for you / The lord of all our rings.”
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It’s no secret that Colbert is a massive fan of The Lord of the Rings — he famously dressed up in LOTR regalia for an Entertainment Weekly cover story he wrote in celebration of the 2014 film The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Midler’s song references Frodo Baggins, the Hobbit tasked with carrying the One Ring to Mordor; Gandalf, the wise wizard who sets Frodo on his quest; and the Great Eagles, the large beings that frequently rescue Frodo and the fellowship on their journey there and back again.
A visibly touched Colbert smiled and laughed as he finally got his chance to pull Midler in for a hug. “Well, everybody, thank you for joining us for my last show,” he declared.
Midler interjected, “I know it’s not your last show, but who the f— knows what’s gonna happen? I mean every day, day to day, minute to minute.”
Earlier in their conversation, Midler explained that she wrote the song to thank Colbert “personally and publicly for all you did for me for the last nine and a half years.”
“And I mean this from the bottom of my heart — I’m gonna cry — I would not have made it through without you,” she confessed. “I really wouldn’t have. You’re a voice of sanity and reason and honesty and, most important, honor.”
“That’s nice of you to say,” Colbert replied, though he noted he wanted to be, “occasionally funny, I hope, too.”
Definitely. “That goes without saying!” Midler declared. “You were hilarious, but it’s all this other stuff mixed in, which is so rare nowadays.”
Watch Midler serenade Colbert in the clip above.
