The song that the Squire ventured to interpret, appeared for the first time in the novels of George RR Martin, and is related to the origins of Daenerys and Jon.
The second episode of the final season of Game of Thrones was charged with emotion. Before the imminent confrontation with the army of White Walkers, all in Winterfell spend their last hours as they could: drinking with companions, fulfilling longings, with a last goodbye kiss or trying rekindling relationships.
In one of the rooms of the historic castle of the Starks, Tyrion, Jaime, Davos, Tormund, Brienne and Podrick, drink wine and talk in front of the fire. They believe it is their last night with life, except for Tyrion, who thinks they have chances of survival.
A song is suggested by Daenerys’ right hand. They all refuse to sing save one: Podrick, who simply begins to interpret some verses about Jenny, a young girl who dances among ghosts in the towers of the kings who are no longer there.
“Jenny’s Song” is one of the few compositions mentioned in the books that had not appeared in the HBO television adaptation. While the squire only sings a few verses, Florence + The Machine plays the rest of the song during the credits, an old story is told that relates to the family of Jon and Daenerys: the Targaryens.
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 would have gone for so long
She could not remember their names
They spun her around on the damp cold stone
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.
Never wanted
It is in A Storm of Swords – the third book of the saga A Song of Ice and Fire – that “Jenny’s Song” appears for the first time. Arya was traveling with the brotherhood when they camped at High Heart to hear the prophecies of a witch with premonitory dreams. She demanded that the song be interpreted as payment for her visions, and thus the first verses about Jenny of Oldstones were made known.
According to the story, Jenny had an affair with Prince Duncan Targaryen, who abdicated the throne to marry her, inheriting the throne from his brother Aerys II, the ‘Mad King.’ The legend is revealed in A Dance With Dragons – Fifth Book – when Sir Barristan Selmy tells Daenerys: “The Prince of ‘Dragonflies’ loved Jenny of Oldstones so much that he left his crown aside, and Westeros paid the price in corpses.”
In addition, Jenny brought before the court a ‘clairvoyant friend’ who predicted the Prophecy of the promised prince who would save Westeros. Even the title of the saga – A Song of Ice and Fire – is attributed to Jenny’s song, but that is a theory without bibliographic backing.
Without knowing it, Podrick chose a ballad on the love that gave rise to the succession of the throne that has Jon Snow (Aegon Targaryen) as the legitimate heir.
