If you finally got “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” out of your head today, only to start singing “o’ valley of plenty” again when you saw this headline, um, sorry?
The monstrously catchy medieval anthem, which appears in episode two of The Witcher‘s first season, is a viral hit, inspiring countless covers. It tells the tale of Geralt of Rivia, the White Holf, who “thrust every elf” and put them “back on the shelf,” and for his troubles saving humanity, why not throw him some change? The song itself is an exaggeration of what actually happens to Geralt and the “humble bard” Jaskier — there was no “mighthy horde” — which is why The Witcher‘s showrunner calls it “horrific.”
“The idea of the song is: Who creates the narrative, and who controls the narrative?,” Lauren S. Hissrich told Business Insider. “It’s something we see in our world all the time in the media. Whoever’s telling the story has the power. Jaskier has the power to tell the story that actually happened or tell the story that makes the Witcher seem like the hero and change his journey for the rest of the season.” She added that although the song, written by composers Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli, is an undeniable ear-worm, “if you step back and listen to the lyrics, it’s horrific. What it’s saying is, I’m going to change how history sees this entire event just because I’ve written a catchy song.”
In other words, “Toss a Coin” is a lie but, as Jaskier sees it, that’s fine, because it’s got a good hook. This begs the question: Do the Vengaboys even *like* to party?
(Via Business Insider)
