The 'Mirror Mirror' line has been bugging me ever since I discovered this album over a year ago, and I think I finally figured it out.
Turgon's undoing was his inability to abandon Gondolin in the end. He knew that Morgoth had finally discovered his whereabouts and was soon to bring all his wrath down on them. Against all hope, Turgon couldn't abandon it because he'd spent so long building up the city and it had grown so proud and beautiful. The song is about Turgon's story as a whole, but the 'Mirror Mirror on the wall' lines represent how his vanity subtly dominates his thoughts and twists his judgement as he decides how best to lead his people even though he knows the answer all along - True hope lies beyond the coast.
The 'Mirror Mirror' line has been bugging me ever since I discovered this album over a year ago, and I think I finally figured it out.
Turgon's undoing was his inability to abandon Gondolin in the end. He knew that Morgoth had finally discovered his whereabouts and was soon to bring all his wrath down on them. Against all hope, Turgon couldn't abandon it because he'd spent so long building up the city and it had grown so proud and beautiful. The song is about Turgon's story as a whole, but the 'Mirror Mirror on the wall' lines represent how his vanity subtly dominates his thoughts and twists his judgement as he decides how best to lead his people even though he knows the answer all along - True hope lies beyond the coast.