The Hold Steady – “The Bear & The Maiden Fair”
SPOILER ALERT: A new Hold Steady song played over the closing credits of last night’s Game Of Thrones. Does that count as a spoiler? It surprised the hell out of me. This comes on the heels of both CHVRCHES and Marissa Nadler covering the Game Of Thrones theme song; it also comes a season after the National recorded a song called “The Rains Of Castamere” for inclusion on the show itself last season. The Hold Steady’s contribution, “The Bear & The Maiden Fair,” features lyrics by GoT author George R.R. Martin, and music by the show’s composer Ramin Djawadi, but you’d never mistake the actual recording for anyone other than the Hold Steady. I don’t want to give anything away, so I’ll just say the track comes after a pretty intense climax, and for me, only served to intensify it. You can listen to the song below, and if you’re not caught up on Game Of Thrones, what the hell are you doing? Get on that!