The Rains of Castamere

"The Rains of Castamere" is an infamous song in Westeros, dedicated to Tywin Lannister in particular and House Lannister in general.
==History==
===Background===
"The Rains of Castamere" immortalized the destruction of House Reyne by Tywin Lannister. House Reyne was obliterated after they rebelled against their liege lord, Tytos Lannister, who was perceived as weak by his own vassals. To restore Lannister dominance, Tytos's son, Tywin, marched against the upstart Lord of Castamere, Roger Reyne. By the end of the rebellion, Castamere had been put to the torch and all members of House Reyne were executed. The title is thus a play on words, as the "rains" fall over the empty halls of the "Reynes" who had been killed to the last man.
The lyrics heavily reference the fact that the sigil of House Reyne was also a red lion, in contrast to the golden lion used as the sigil of House Lannister. The rebellion of the Reynes against the Lannisters was therefore seen as a clash of lions.
In the decades since young Tywin reasserted House Lannister's dominance by crushing the Reynes, "The Rains of Castamere" went on to become very popular with soldiers of the Westerlands, becoming an "anthem" of sorts for House Lannister. This extends to the point that western soldiers sometimes refer to it simply as, "the Lannister song".
===Game of Thrones: Season 2===
Tyrion whistles the tune to the song when he arrives at the Small Council in King's Landing for the first time. He does it again while on his way to visit Shae, when he is surprised to find that Varys is there with her.
Bronn and a number of Lannister men-at-arms sing the song while drinking and whoring prior to the Battle of the Blackwater. When they ask how he came to know "the Lannister song" he simply replies, "Drunk Lannisters."
===Game of Thrones: Season 3===
Thoros of Myr sings "The Rains of Castamere" as he crosses the Riverlands alongside Anguy and other members of the Brotherhood Without Banners.
Queen Cersei tells Margaery Tyrell about the origins of the song to intimidate her.
The musicians - actually assassins - hired by Lothar Frey for the wedding feast of Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey begin playing the song after the bedding of the newlyweds. The song is the signal for the forces of House Frey and House Bolton to turn on the Starks and Tullys and slaughter them. Catelyn Stark is the only one present who recognizes the tune, but by the time she realizes what is happening, it is already far too late.
===Game of Thrones: Season 4===
While examining prostitutes at a brothel owned by Petyr Baelish, currently managed by Olyvar, Prince Oberyn Martell and his paramour Ellaria Sand overhear two Lannister soldiers singing "The Rains of Castamere." In response, he pins one of their hands to a table with a knife and threatens them.
During the royal wedding feast of King Joffrey Baratheon, a group of three musicians play the song. Joffrey finds their performance boring, so ultimately he throws some coins at their feet to make them stop.
===Game of Thrones: Season 7===
Once Highgarden is sacked, Jaime Lannister walks in to confront Olenna Tyrell. She asks if the battle is over, and Jaime says it is. Olenna utters the lyrics from the song, but changes the line "But now the rains weep o'er his hall" to "And now the rains weep o'er our halls".
==Lyrics==
:::And who are you, the proud lord said, 
:::that I must bow so low,
:::Only a cat of a different coat, 
:::that's all the truth I know. 
:::In a coat of gold or a coat of red, 
:::a lion still has claws, 
:::And mine are long and sharp, my lord, 
:::as long and sharp as yours. 
:::And so he spoke, and so he spoke, 
:::that Lord of Castamere, 
:::But now the rains weep o'er his hall, 
:::with no one there to hear. 
:::Yes now the rains weep o'er his hall, 
:::and not a soul to hear.
==Behind the scenes==
The version used in the TV series' soundtrack was recorded by the American indie rock band The National, and appears on Game of Thrones: Season 2 (Music from the HBO Series), as well as over the closing credits for the episode "Blackwater". Originally producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wanted British band Florence + The Machine to perform the song, but they were busy. The National were their second choice.
The lyrics are provided by the original novel. Show composer Ramin Djawadi wrote the tune before the National came in and played their own interpretation of it.Vulture
The song is the basis of the Lannisters' leitmotif in the series' soundtrack.
​Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós have recorded a version of the song for the fourth season.Winter is Coming Tumblr
The song was recorded by Armenian-American record producer Serj Tankian for the Season 8 soundtrack. It was unused on-screen.
==In the books==
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, "The Rains of Castamere" was composed after Tywin Lannister's victory over their rebellious bannermen: House Reyne of Castamere and the ancient House Tarbeck of Tarbeck Hall. Lord Tytos Lannister, Tywin's father, had been a kind but weak ruler. He loaned money to lords who never bothered to repay him and his vassals openly ignored his orders and mocked him in court. When Lord Reyne (known as the Red Lion of Castamere) and Lady Ellyn Tarbeck rose in rebellion, Tywin took it upon himself to deal with the rebellion and wiped out both of the upstart lords, their families and households and put their seats of power to the torch.
Some years later after the extinction of House Reyne when Lord Farman of Faircastle grew truculent, Lord Tywin sent an envoy bearing a lute instead of a letter to play "The Rains of Castamere" in Farman's hall, and the latter gave no further trouble.
In the novels, "The Rains of Castamere" and its story (as above) are first mentioned in Chapter 19 of Volume 3, A Storm of Swords. The full lyrics are first provided in Chapter 39 of the same volume, recited by the singer Tom of Sevenstreams of the Brotherhood; the TV show uses that lyric without alteration.
During the siege of Riverrun, Tom of Sevenstreams plays the song in order to clarify to Edmure Tully that Jaime's threats are not idle, thus make him more willing to accept the surrender terms.
==References==
==External links==
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Category:House Lannister
Category:House Reyne
Category:Songs
de:Der Regen von Castamaer (Lied)
fr:Les Pluies de Castamere (chanson)
pl:Deszcze Castamere
ro:Ploile din Castamere (melodie)
ru:Дожди в Кастамере (песня)