This week: Fantasy Songs Edited by: ~Minja~  
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"High in the halls of the kings who are gone;
Jenny would dance with her ghosts"
―The initial stanzas of the song in ASOIAF
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the song is referred to as Jenny's song by the ghost of High Heart. The origin and most of the lyrics of the song are unknown. Arya Stark hears the song when the brotherhood without banners takes her to High Heart for the first time. The outlaws meet with the ghost of High Heart, who requests a song after telling them of her recent dreams. The song is so soft and sad that Arya can only hear snatches of the words, though the tune is half familiar to her.
Florence + The Machine recorded the version of the song that plays over the end credits of the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode in the final season of Game of Thrones. Showrunner David Benioff stated that while the first line of the song appears in George R.R. Martin's books, the rest of the lyrics were written for the show. Ramin Djawadi provided the melody. Bryan Cogman, who wrote the episode the song debuted in, said that it was actually Dan Weiss who wrote the rest of the lyrics. (taken from Game of Thrones Wiki ) |
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t's been 5 months since the last season of Game of Thrones aired and I'm still in denial when it comes about the ending. Last night, while talking with a friend, I lost myself in a fantasy side of YouTube and was reminded about how extremely emotional, and sad, and nostalgic I become listening to that haunting Jenny of Oldstones.
No, I'm not going to complain about the ending or anything like that. I want to focus on the importance of songs in fantasy novels. Not every fantasy novel out there has songs in it, I certainly don't think every fantasy novel NEEDS TO have its songs, but I think it's important to recognize the value of music in every culture. If you have a chance to visit medieval festivals, you will notice games, plays, musical acts on their program. When I visited St.Emilion in France a few months ago, during their own medieval festival they had a group dancing traditional dances. It was a magical experience for me because their dances told stories of people living in that time.
Through the rich European history, songs and dances were the main tools of telling a story. Many fantasy writers today use songs to tell the story within the main story. In Outlander Diana Gabaldon narrates the journey of Claire Randall through the ancient stones of Craigh na Dun. Claire found herself 200 years back in the past, in mid-eighteen Scotland, and after being captured and held against her will by the group of highlanders she got the chance to be present at the evening entertainment. That night, the Welsh bard Gwyllyn performed a song about the wife of the Laird of Balnain, who returned through rocks on a fairy hill. Bean Tighearna Bhail' 'n Athain or The Woman of Balnain is a Scottish Gaelic song whose original lyrics are being rewritten to match properly Claire's situation. I don't understand a single word of Gaelic language but the way they made this scene in the show was mystical and beautiful. The song boosted Claire's confidence that one day she will get back to her own time, to her husband Frank, because the song said they always go back.
Tolkien's fantasy novel Lord of the Rings features a poem in the form of a song called A Walking Song. The road in A Walking Song has been seen as a metaphor for destiny and experience for both Bilbo and Frodo that begins at their home Bag End. Pippin sang The Edge of Night—rewritten version of A Walking Song— before the battle of Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. When Game of Thrones fans heard Podrick singing Jenny of Oldstones in the second episode of the last season, that scene reminiscent Pippin singing. This isn't surprising at all, considering the fact that Lord of the Rings was the main inspiration for Martin's A Song of ice and Fire.
If you thought about writing a song or two as a part of your fantastic journey but you are not sure what kind of songs these should be, here are the types of the songs that are often used in popular novels:
 Drinking songs
Imagine the setting where your characters travel through some distant land and see the small tavern by the road. They go in, they meet other characters, have a few drinks together, and before they know it they end up carrying each other on the back and singing some silly lyrics. Sounds familiar?
Love songs
In Martin's ASOIAF that would be Jenny of Oldstones. Jenny of Oldstones was a poor woman who won the heart of Prince Duncan Targaryen and married him against the wishes of his father, King Aegon V Targaryen, due to the fact that he was already betrothed to the daughter of Lord Lyonel Baratheon. Aegon attempted to have the marriage undone, but Duncan refused to leave Jenny and gave up his right to the throne. The official lyrics that are written specifically for the show have a different purpose though. It wasn't a love song, it was more a theory of how the show could end. As a matter of fact, I thought that was the only proper ending they could pull off.
Prophecy songs
These are usually Biblical verses but not necessarily. If you read my newsletter from the beginning you could see that I talked about The Woman of Balnain. This is one version of the prophetic song.
Battle songs and anthems
In season 2, episode 8 of Outlander, clans are preparing for a Jacobite rising and the battle of Culloden. As they go into the battle they are followed by the marching band who sang a song called Moch Sa Mhadainn, written by a celebrated poet of the Jacobite era, Alasdair mac Mghaighstir. It is a Gaelic song about Bonnie Prince Charlie and how his followers desire to see him on the throne after this battle.
I met a couple of novel writers on this site who openly admitted they think they are not good with writing poetry and they stay away from entering poetry contests. If this is the reason why you also stay away from writing songs in your fantasy novels perhaps you could start thinking about collaboration with your fellow poets. Collaboration is wonderful when both of you know what to expect from each other. I'm pretty sure there is someone out there who could write perfect verses for your characters. As you could see, songs could be used to drive the entire plot. Break your writing limits and don't shy away from adding them to your stories.
Until next time, sing a song
~Minja~
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Excerpt: Sweet lullaby melody,
ascending toward
the deep azure sky.
Dancing over a
gentle breeze, through
the hawthorn trees.
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Excerpt: Live on for us,
Fan the ember into flame,
And let the fires rage,
And tear apart the darkness,
Like a Dragon enraged!
_________________________________
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#2118921 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Once in every generation
A special star does shine
From humble pink beginnings
Came a unicorn divine
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#2128059 by Not Available. |
Excerpt: Two swigs set your heart on fire,
pump your veins with liquid courage,
steel your legs with walls of burbage**!
Give false strength to face things dire,
chase after your heart’s desire.
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Excerpt: Be silent now ye listeners,
hear ye this minstrel's tune
of elves and fairy creatures
that dwell upon the dune.
Exiled were elves from humankind
when faith waned as the moon.
They sailed on clouds in fairy ships,
tides tossed them on the dune
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Fantasy: September 18, 2019 Issue [#9758]
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