Load Up Your MP3 Player With The Best Songs From ‘Game of Thrones’
Toss a coin to your Maester
High fantasy would be nothing without the occasional bard song. There’s a reason most modern fantasy shows and movies include a little musical break every now and then; it’s tradition that goes all the way back to Tolkien.
And “Game of Thrones” was no exception. It featured quite a few now-iconic songs, many of which were pulled straight from George R. R. Martin’s books. But HBO took things a step further still, having several real-world musicians pop up in cameos throughout the season.
We’ve rounded up our favorites, from Ed Sheeran showing up as a soldier to Coldplay’s drummer predictably getting cast as, well, a drummer.
Read on for the full list.
Best ‘Game of Thrones’ songs
Like J. R. R. Tolkien before him, George R. R. Martin included a lot of songs in his “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels. When HBO brought the books to the screen, it hired Ramin Djawadi to turn the words on the page into full-fledged bangers. Here are some of the best:
‘Jenny of Oldstones’ (Florence + the Machine)
In the show, Podrick sings this song to the rest of the characters the night before they all go to war. But book readers know the connection the song has to the rest of the world’s mythos. The “Jenny” in the song is actually the wife of Duncan Targaryen—the son of Egg from “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” So this is a song about that cute little boy’s future daughter-in-law.
Anyway, I’m embedding the Florence + the Machine cover above instead of the Podrick version. Sorry to actor Daniel Portman—but the theme of this article is celebrity musician cameos, and Florence is just a tad more famous. Her version plays in the show’s end credits.
‘Rains of Castamere’ (The National)
I heard this song before I had watched even a single episode of “Game of Thrones.” Even when I was too young to watch “Thrones,” I knew good music when I heard it. George R. R. Martin wrote the lyrics in 2000, Ramin Djawadi composed the tune in 2011, and thus an icon was born.
In both the books and the show, the song is performed at the so-called “Red Wedding.” In the show, when Catelyn Stark hears the wedding band playing the song’s haunting melody, she knows something is about to go terribly wrong. One of those band members was actually Coldplay’s drummer, Will Champion. And the song popped up again in Season 4 during Joffrey’s wedding, this time with a cameo from real-life Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós.
Although you might know a different version of the song better—the one with lyrics, that played in the end credits of an episode in Season 2. That one was performed by another real-life band, The National.
‘Hands of Gold’ (Ed Sheeran)
You might have been too distracted by Ed Sheeran’s near-anachronistic cameo as a random knight to pay attention to the meaning of the song, but it’s actually another callback to the books. In “A Storm of Swords,”, Tyrion Lannister gets blackmailed by someone singing this exact song. The “hands of gold” refer to a chain that he wears, and that he later uses to murder his lover.
It doesn’t really mean any of that in the show, though. It was more just a fun little time for Ed Sheeran, which is valid.
‘The Bear and the Maiden Fair’ (The Hold Steady)
“The Bear and the Maiden Fair” is another instance of a real musician showing up in “Game of Thrones” as a background character. But this one was a little less jarring than Ed Sheeran—Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody makes a cameo as one of Brienne and Jaime’s captors in Season 3.
The song makes a return at the end of the episode, when The Hold Steady’s post-punk cover played over the credits. Not exactly the somber, thoughtful ballad of the other songs, but even a show filled with death and despair needs some levity every so often.
More of the best ‘Game of Thrones’ musician cameos
Not every celebrity cameo featured a full song. Sometimes artists appeared just for the fun of it.
Season 5: Mastodon
If you’re in a metal band, it’s probably your dream to be killed and brought back as a cool winter-y zombie onscreen. At least, I’m assuming that was the motivation for the band Mastodon’s cameos in Season 5. Three band members initially played wildlings, who were then killed and brought back as White Walkers. They even got to come back for the Season 7 finale.
Season 6: Of Monsters and Men
Sigur Rós weren’t the only Icelandic band to show up in Westeros. Of Monsters and Men, another Icelandic band, channeled their inner ren-faire performers to accompany a satirical play during Season 6. It was all very “Ember Island Players,” if you’re an “Avatar” fan.
Season 8: Chris Stapleton
The musician-cameo tradition continued all the way through Season 8. Chris Stapleton, a country singer from Kentucky, made an appearance as an extra during “The Long Night.” According to Business Insider, it’s actually pretty hard to spot him during the chaotic (and IMO, very dark) episode, but we know he was there thanks to a photo he shared on Instagram.
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