Jenny of Oldstones

Album: Single release only (2019)
Charted: 71
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • As the Game of Thrones episode "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" came to a close on April 21, 2019 viewers heard the voice of Florence Welch sing this haunting Celtic melody over the closing credits.

    High in the halls of the kings who are gone
    Jenny would dance with her ghost
    The ones she had lost and the ones she had found
    And the ones who had loved her the most


    The folk ballad is about the "strange, lovely, and mysterious" commoner "Jenny of Oldstones" who was a character created by George R. R. Martin for his A Song of Ice and Fire book series. The song tells of her doomed affair with Prince Duncan Targaryen, who gave up his throne for the woman he loved.
  • The song was written by Martin along with Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi and the show's creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
  • The entire "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" episode is dedicated to the buildup before the battle at Winterfell between the living and the dead. Another version of "Jenny of Oldstones" was sung a cappella by the character Podrick Payne, portrayed by Scottish actor Daniel Portman Podrick, earlier on, as he and many of his friends drink by the fire before the upcoming battle. His rendition is known as "Jenny's Song."
  • Florence + the Machine frontwoman Florence Welch was personally approached by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, for the song and is the only artist to officially soundtrack part of the Game of Throne's final season. Other artists that have had songs played over the closing credits include the National ("The Rains of Castamere") and the Hold Steady ("The Bear With The Maiden Fair").
  • When David Benioff and D.B. Weiss approached Florence Welch to record "Jenny of Oldstones", she had little idea what the tune was about or how it was going to be used on the series. "When I first heard the song it sounded like a Celtic lullaby to me," she said. "Celtic music has always been in my blood, so I felt like I could do something with it. The magic and ritual in Game of Thrones, not to mention the costumes, have always appealed to me."

    Had she known the true story behind the song, Welch might have made the tune more dramatic. "I would have been like, 'We need fanfares, and you're going to have to get a dragon on here somehow,'" she said. "I might have - as I can do sometimes - overblown it. So I'm glad I didn't know then, but I'm glad to know now."
  • Welch worked on the song with Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett, who also collaborated with her on the fourth Florence and the Machine album, High as Hope. "He's a piano genius," she said. "He helped formulate the chords, and then I kind of added my choir, my hellish soprano. We just tried to keep within the Game of Thrones world, to retain the ghostliness of it."
  • The song set a record as the most Shazamed track ever in its first 24 hours after release. Approximately 300,000 hits were recorded on the music recognition app worldwide in the 24 hours following its appearance on Game of Thrones. The previous record was held by Adele's "Hello" single in October 2015 which was Shazamed over 200,000 times in its first 24 hours.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Kim Thayil of Soundgarden

Kim Thayil of SoundgardenSongwriter Interviews

Their frontman (Chris Cornell) started out as their drummer, so Soundgarden takes a linear approach when it comes to songwriting. Kim explains how they do it.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

History Of Rock

History Of RockSong Writing

An interview with Dr. John Covach, music professor at the University of Rochester whose free online courses have become wildly popular.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. SmithSongwriter Interviews

Smith breaks down some of his worship tracks as well as his mainstream hits, including "I Will Be Here For You" and "A Place In This World."