- "High in the halls of the kings who are gone;
Jenny would dance with her ghosts" - ―The initial stanzas of the song
Jenny of Oldstones is a Westerosi song about Jenny of Oldstones.
History
Season 8
Podrick Payne sings the first stanza of the song shortly before the Battle of Winterfell.[1]
Lyrics
- High in the halls of the kings who are gone
- Jenny would dance with her ghosts
- The ones she had lost and the ones she had found
- And the ones who had loved her the most
- The ones who'd been gone for so very long
- She couldn't remember their names
- They spun her around on the damp old stones
- Spun away all her sorrow and pain
- And she never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- They danced through the day and into the night
- Through the snow that swept through the hall
- From winter to summer then winter again
- Til the walls did crumble and fall
- And she never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- And she never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- Never wanted to leave
- High in the halls of the kings who are gone
- Jenny would dance with her ghosts
- The ones she had lost and the ones she had found
- And the ones who had loved her the most
Behind the Scenes
Florence + The Machine recorded the version of the song that plays over the end credits of "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms". David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are fans of the band and had approached them to record a version of The Rains of Castamere for the end credits of "Blackwater", but their request was turned down and The National recorded the song instead. Florence Welch was not told the context in which the song would be used, but agreed to record it as she was a fan of the show and liked the sad and haunting nature of the song.[2]
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.[3]
In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the song is referred to as my Jenny's song by the ghost of High Heart. The origin and most of the lyrics of the song are unknown. Arya hears the song, which was requested by the ghost of High Heart, when the brotherhood without banners takes her to High Heart. Tom of Sevenstreams sings the song frequently.
Robb mentions a song about Jenny of Oldstones to Catelyn, but it is unknown if he was referring to Jenny's song.
