The Rains of Castamere (song)

"The Rains of Castamere" is a song appearing in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels and in the television series adaptation Game of Thrones. The song's lyrics were written by George R. R. Martin in the original novel, and the tune was composed by Ramin Djawadi in 2011, upon request from the series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The song appears multiple times throughout the books and show.

"The Rains of Castamere"
Song by The National
from the album Game of Thrones: Season 2
ReleasedJune 19, 2012
Recorded2011
GenreTelevision soundtrack
Length2:23
LabelVarèse Sarabande
Songwriter(s)Ramin Djawadi, George R. R. Martin
Producer(s)Ramin Djawadi

Uses

The song's lyrics first appear in the novel A Storm of Swords, in which "The Rains of Castamere" is sung or mentioned several times. It remembers Tywin Lannister's victory over House Lannister's rebellious vassals of House Reyne ("the Reynes of Castamere") and House Tarbeck, about 40 years before the events of the novels. The stanza of the song that is reproduced in the novels and adapted for the television series tells of the vassals' defiance – "And who are you, the proud lord said / That I must bow so low?" – and the subsequent extermination of their houses: "But now the rains weep o'er his hall / With no one there to hear." Late in the novel, the song is performed at the Red Wedding, another massacre of Tywin Lannister's enemies.[1]

In the TV series, the tune is first heard when Tyrion Lannister whistles a small part in season 2 episode 1 ("The North Remembers").[2] In season 2 episode 9, Bronn sings "The Rains of Castamere" with the Lannisters' soldiers. When one of the soldiers asks, "Where'd you learn the Lannister song?", Bronn replies, "Drunk Lannisters." An instrumental version can be heard during Tyrion's speech right after King Joffrey abandons the battlefield in the same episode. The season 2 soundtrack contains a rendition of the song "The Rains of Castamere" by the indie rock band The National, sung by their vocalist Matt Berninger.[3][4] The song is also played over the end credits of the season 2 episode 9, "Blackwater".

In season 3, an instrumental version of "The Rains of Castamere" plays over the end credits in episode 7, "The Bear and the Maiden Fair".[5] In episode 9 of season 3, also titled "The Rains of Castamere", an instrumental version of the song is played by the musicians at the Red Wedding.

In episode 2 of season 4 ("The Lion and the Rose"), the Icelandic band Sigur Rós makes a cameo appearance as musicians performing their rendition of "The Rains of Castamere" at Joffrey and Margaery's wedding. Joffrey stops them midway by throwing coins at them. Their version also plays over the closing credits of this episode.[6]

An orchestral rendition of the tune appears as House Lannister's theme throughout seasons 3 and 4, available in the soundtrack as "A Lannister Always Pays His Debts".

A new version of the song was released on the Season 8 soundtrack featuring Serj Tankian of the American heavy metal band System of a Down on lead vocals.

Credits and personnel

Personnel adapted from the album liner notes.[7]

Chart positions
Chart (2014) Peak

position

French Singles Sales Chart (SNEP)[8]

Sigur Rós version

 132
gollark: No, Rust on.
gollark: I mostly use python for that and avoid the horrible suffering of lol no generics.
gollark: Honestly, no, garbage collection is... easier.
gollark: You love Go because of ONE nice library?
gollark: I see.

See also

References
  1. Martin, George R. R. A Storm of Swords.
  2. Mahoney, Lesley (September 20, 2013). "Behind the Scenes with Game of Thrones Composer Ramin Djawadi". Berklee College of Music.
  3. "'Game of Thrones' Season 2 Soundtrack Details". Film Music Reporter. May 24, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  4. On the published track list, the title is misspelled "The Rains of Castomere" rather than "Castamere" as in the novels. The spelling is corrected on the printed listing on the liner notes that come with the disc. García, Elio (May 23, 2012). "Season 2 Soundtrack Details". Westeros.org. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  5. Carp, Jesse (May 24, 2012). "Listen to the National Recording of the rains of Castamere for Game of Thrones". cinemablend. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  6. "Listen: Sigur Rós' cover of "The Rains of Castamere" for Game of Thrones". Consequence of Sound. April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
  7. "Game of Thrones: Season 2 by Ramin Djawadi". Retrieved July 20, 2012.
  8. "lescharts.com - Les charts français". lescharts.com (in French). Retrieved 2019-04-25.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.