Netflix’s The Witcher has become enormously successful since its launch in December, with the rest of the franchise, such as the novels and games, getting a huge resurgence in consumer interest as well. One of the most popular things to come out of the new show however, is a song sung by the bard Jaskier, otherwise known as Dandelion. Note: This article contains spoilers for the first three episodes of Netflix’s The Witcher.
“Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” has become an overnight sensation among fans of the show. The song is so popular that people who do not even watch the show have clung to it, and it has been recently featured in Beat Saber as a music level and has even been covered into other genres like heavy metal. There have been multiple YouTube channels that have been posting different versions of the song, and one video of the original version has 9.7 million views as of the time of this writing. The song may have helped make Netflix’s The Witcher a great success by reaching a further audience than the show could have alone.
There are several reasons why the song is so popular. The lyrics reference a bunch of moments from the episode it was featured on (which was the second episode - “Four Marks”).
When a humble bard
Graced a ride along
With Geralt of Rivia
Along came this song
From when the White Wolf fought
A silver-tongued devil
His army of elves
At his hooves did they revel
They came after me
With masterful deceit
Broke down my lute
And they kicked in my teeth
While the devil’s horns
Minced our tender meat
And so cried the Witcher
He can’t be bleat
Toss a coin to your Witcher
O’ Valley of Plenty
O’
The first part of the song directly references what happened in the events right before the song starts in the episode. Earlier in the episode, Jaskier and Geralt find themselves in a local pub in Posada. After Jaskier recognizes Geralt and says his name out loud, an onlooker stops Geralt and offers to pay him for a job investigating a series of grain thefts. The onlooker suspects the culprit to be a devil but Geralt is skeptical. When Geralt later investigates, he gets into a scrap with a Sylvan named Torque, whom Geralt tries to convince to leave for good.
Toss a coin to Your Witcher
At the edge of the world
Fight the mighty horde
That bashes and breaks you
And brings you to mourn
He thrust every elf
Far back on the shelf
High up on the mountain
From whence it came
He wiped out your pest
Got kicked in his chest
He’s a friend of humanity
So give him the rest
That’s my epic tale
Our champion prevailed
Defeated the villain
Now pour him some ale
The opening of the song talks about those initial moments when Geralt gets hired to stop a devil. When they are both knocked out and brought to a cave where the elven king Filavandrel is in hiding, the elven king threatens to punish their encroachment with death. They also rough them up and break Jaskier’s lute. Geralt then attempts to convince Filavandrel as he tried to convince Torque and tells him to find a better life away from the humans that have been plaguing his fortunes and destroying his people.
Eventually, they are allowed to leave and Jaskier is even given the king’s treasured lute as a replacement. As Geralt and Jaskier set off on their next journey, Jaskier begins to write this song of their experience. He makes a reference to the beatdown he received in the cave with the lyrics, “they came after me, with masterful deceit, broke down my lute, and they kicked in my teeth.” He also references Geralt’s bravery in the song when he was under the situation. The song then goes on to slightly exaggerate the events that transpired.
In the show, Jaskier tells Geralt that he is going to make him famous by writing songs of his journeys and battles. This explains why he tends to exaggerate; he wants to get the desired effect of people adoring Geralt. In a pub scene in a later episode, the local townsfolk sing praises of Geralt, proving that Jaskier knew what he was talking about. Metaphorically speaking, Jaskier’s song talents also managed to sway new viewers toward the show on Netflix.
Another reason the song from The Witcher is so appealing is because of reasons relating to good composition of music. The song starts out with Jaskier on a somber and lower-end pitch and tempo, with the lute also being the only instrument being played at that point. As the song progresses and the lyrics kick up in theme intensity, a stringed orchestra joins the lute and lifts up the feeling of adventure. Toward the end, Jaskier exhibits a higher volume and pitch while speeding up the tempo of his singing. These techniques all contribute to a grand ballad of adventure.
Netflix’s The Witcher is available now.
