Released June 4, 2013 Genre Television soundtrack | Recorded 2012-2013 Length 2:56 | |
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"The Bear and the Maiden Fair", is a song in A Song of Ice and Fire and of the television series addaption Game of Thrones. It has been sung several times in the show and was composed by Ramin Djawadi in 2012, after series creator David Benioff and D. B. Weiss approached him requesting the song to be made. The lyrics are provided by George R. R. Martin from the original novel, with Djawadi writing the tune.
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History
The US indie rock band The Hold Steady recorded "The Bear and the Maiden Fair", a folk song from Martin's novels, for season three. The recording is played over the end credits of episode three, and the song is sung in the same episode by Brienne's and Jaime's captors, which include musician Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol in a cameo appearance. Set to music by series composer Ramin Djawadi and arranged by Tad Kubler, the recording was released on a seven-inch record on April 20, 2013.
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, "The Bear and the Maiden Fair" is a traditional song popular among people of all social classes throughout Westeros. It recounts the story of a bear, "All black and brown / And covered with hair", who traveled to a summer fair, and smelled "on the summer air ... The maid with honey / In her hair!" Although she vowed that she'll "never dance / With a hairy bear", he "lifted her high / Into the air", and "licked the honey / From her hair", until she "sighed and squealed / And kicked the air", eventually agreeing to go off with her "bear so fair".