One of the most popular aspects of Netflixs incredibly popular fantasy series The Witcher is its viral hit song, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher. Sung by a troubadour named Jaskier in the shows second episode, the song has been earworming its way through the zeitgeist, expanding well beyond the reach of the show since it debuted on December 20.
Last week, after a strangely long delay, the song finally became available on Spotify and other streaming services, where it quickly drew attention for its catchy chorus and quirky lyrics all over again.
Even though its mostly a piece of lyrical nonsense based on the events of the shows second episode, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher has amassed legions of fans. In the month since it premiered, in fact, no fewer than four versions of it three different metal covers of the song, as well as the original soundtrack version have all charted in the UK. On YouTube, where all current uploads of the soundtrack are unofficial, the four most-watched versions of the song have a combined view count of more than 40 million.
If youve heard Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, youll know that its something of a many-headed hydra. The song has aspects of medieval instrumentation and classical song structure, as you might expect for a song appearing in a medieval fantasy show. But its also replete with pop movement and rhythm, and even has a dollop of musical theater stylization.
One reason for this jumble of influences is that the songs composers, Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli, wanted to reflect the fusion of genres and aesthetic influences that comprise The Witcher itself. The show is based on a popular book series that later inspired a hit fantasy video game series, so its got a distinctive, game-influenced aesthetic but its also channeling everything from the epic feel of Game of Thrones to the tongue-in-cheek musical parody Galavant.
I confess that upon first hearing Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, I really, really didnt understand the appeal. In fact, I was jarred by the songs many discordant elements. So I decided to talk it over with Charlie Harding, a musicologist and co-host of Voxs Switched on Pop podcast, to get a sense of why so many people were so infatuated with this strange tune. And through our discussion, I realized that the parts of the song I was most baffled by actually were the key to its appeal.
At a glance, Toss a Coin is trying to have its cake and eat it: that is, it wants to be both an earnest song that fits diegetically within its weird fictional universe and a catchy meta-pop song. Its presentation is deeply earnest and straightforward, with actor Joey Batey singing along to an orchestral accompaniment that gets more and more sweepingly dramatic.
But its also replete with syncopation: Its words land on the off-beats, and it uses rhythms that didnt really exist in the historical medieval culture its attempting to channel. And in keeping with the scores of video games, where big, synthesized drum sections are a common feature, it also has a percussion-heavy backing track. Its the kind of thing you might expect to hear in a fantasy game soundtrack right when the fighting gets good but that isnt exactly what you might expect to hear from a song set within that game universes story.
Not only that, but the lyrics are deliberately tongue-in-cheek, with lines like he cant be bleat (a goat-related pun) and he thrust every elf far back on the shelf, a meta-joke that completely breaks the fourth wall.
Theres something almost like [an] uncanny valley in the way that [the song] borrows so fluidly between different styles that we expect to exist in very different media, like video games, musical pop, Renaissance music, all blurred together, Harding said. He pointed out that Batey also uses a style of singing thats closer to musical theater than to a folk/troubadour sound, which further creates a sense of disconnect between the songs many different elements.
Compare all this to a song like Game of Thrones The Rains of Castamere, which keeps to a clear folk aesthetic, both lyrically and musically: Its simple, using few instruments, with a naturalistic singer and a song that feels very balladic. The official soundtrack version of Rains of Castamere was also recorded by the well-known indie rock band the National, whose gritty folk influences naturally complement Game of Thrones aesthetic. So between the band and the show itself, there was an established milieu for how to hear the song. With a more hybrid-genre show like Witcher, that milieu doesnt quite exist.
Harding explains that these discordant elements are part of Toss a Coins basic appeal. I think its drawing on people who love video game scores and anybody thats played [something] like Diablo or World of Warcraft: Kings, he told me. The backing tracks of those games are all pseudo-medieval but are also very much contemporary music. ... And that sound has become the sound of any sort of video game music.
Harding told me the popularity of Toss a Coin to Your Witcher actually illustrates a larger point about pop culture which is that what we think of as pop music is in fact much, much larger than just whats topping Billboard at any given moment.
A lot of people will say all pop music sounds the same, and that usually whats happening on the Billboard [charts] will be the dominant sound currently, that sound would be trap music, he told me. But I actually believe that what is in the popular zeitgeist at any given moment is much broader, and includes whats happening in film scores, whats happening in video game music, whats happening with musicals.
We are comfortable with very different kinds of music given the context and space in which theyre played, Harding added. By experimenting with the boundaries between various musical genres and aesthetics, he explained, Toss a Coin to Your Witcher plays with the idea that were all comfortable with radically different musical styles given different contexts.
By playing with the context of all these different musical genres, and combining them with a catchy hook, Harding said, Toss a Coin ultimately becomes something you might stream in the background of your day.
The success of Toss a Coin also owes a lot to a genre you might not expect: musical theater. In fact, Toss a Coin is perhaps best thought of as a musical theater number because like many musicals, The Witcher employs a conceit in which the time period of its setting and the style of the production itself dont need to align.
Like when you listen to Grease, Harding noted. Grease is also not 1950s music.
Every musical has its own aesthetic rules that it needs to adhere to, and then it uses allusions to other styles to evoke another period, he explained. Like Phantom of the Opera evokes a baroque quality, even though it is thoroughly a contemporary 80s musical.
Toss a Coin also predominantly uses a traditional harmonic chord progression from the world of classical music. At the songs climax, around the words a friend of humanity, the song shifts to what musicians call a perfect cadence. Thats when a cadential chord progression emphasizes its crucial dominant chord a chord built from the fifth note in a typical scale before resolving to its home chord, or tonic chord. It sounds like this:
When we hear a dominant chord played in this context, our ears naturally want that chord to resolve back to the tonic chord, which is the root chord of the key. The power of the dominant chord and our need for it to resolve creates a progression of buildup, tension, and release.
When that cadence happens in a song thats written in a minor key, like Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, the effect is one of incredibly dramatic suspense. (In fact, such chords are often called suspended chords if they dont immediately get resolved.) Toss a Coin to Your Witcher all but overemphasizes its dominant chord. The result is a sound that not only creates high drama for the listener but also recalls the idea of a more classical structure. It adds a sense of tradition and even loftiness to the whole song, in keeping with the musical theater vibe.
And most importantly, Harding told me, that extra drama gives listeners the freedom to be sentimental a freedom pop music often denies them. It has this very revelrous sort of quality to it, he said. And I think that is the magical thing that musicals still allow for. In pop music, sentimentality is so scorned. Musicals, however, allow for embracing heightened emotions: They give you permission to wave your fist in the air.
So the next time you listen to Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, and you feel like joining the heightened revelry, you can participate with full awareness of what the song gets right and how the joy you get from hitting replay is really about so much more than just a catchy hook.
The rest is here:
Toss a Coin to Your Witcher, explained by a songwriter - Vox.com
- NBC Has a Huge Opportunity with Law & Order: SVU's 25th Season - CBR - Comic Book Resources - November 30th, 2023 [November 30th, 2023]
- Seeding a gay community in LA, the gay liberation revolution - Los Angeles Blade - November 30th, 2023 [November 30th, 2023]
- Britney Spears's 'Baby One More Time' music video debuted on ... - Yahoo Entertainment - November 30th, 2023 [November 30th, 2023]
- 13 Of The Greatest And Most Famous Britpop Bands - Hello Music Theory - November 30th, 2023 [November 30th, 2023]
- The top advertising campaigns of 2023 according to Australian ... - AdNews - November 30th, 2023 [November 30th, 2023]
- The 25 Best New Movies Streaming in November 2023 - TheWrap - November 30th, 2023 [November 30th, 2023]
- Jets' Aaron Rodgers 'attacking' rehab, eyes return this season - WABC-TV - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- ESG counteroffensive is missing big guns - POLITICO - POLITICO - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- The increasingly radical climate movement, explained - Vox.com - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Imani Winds inspires with recital celebrating composers of color at ... - EarRelevant - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- The Super Models Tells the Story of the Original Fashion Influencers - AnOther Magazine - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- What constitutes a master? Don't ask Jann Wenner The Daily ... - Daily Free Press - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- The Conviviality of Ivan Illich (Part I) | by O.G. Rose | Oct, 2023 ... - Medium - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- SickKids unveils more future-focused VS campaign to match new ... - The Message - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Top 6 Iconic Classic Rock Bands of the '60s - American Songwriter - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Brent Harold: The renaissance of union logic - Arizona Daily Star - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- German bishops conclude tense gathering with all eyes on Synod ... - Catholic World Report - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Slasher Saturdays: The Hills Have Eyes (1977) Vs. The Hills Have ... - Horror Obsessive - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Listen to Scott Drebit Discuss His New Book A CUT BELOW: A ... - Daily Dead - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Whitney Houston Hairstyles: Tribute to Her Unparalleled Elegance - PINKVILLA - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Frosted Lipstick, Chunky Highlights & Thick Eyeliner: Every Beauty ... - New Zealand Herald - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- From Alphas To Betas: Science Says There Are Three Types Of ... - Evie Magazine - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Russell Brand is a product of the horrifically misogynistic noughties - Prospect Magazine - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- The Enduring Magic of Lorde's Pure Heroine and HAIM's Days Are ... - Paste Magazine - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Climate activists: How far is too far in raising the climate alarm? - Daily Maverick - October 3rd, 2023 [October 3rd, 2023]
- Pride Anthems at WHBPAC June 2nd at 8PM - Hamptons.com - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- The illuminating influence of Eric Huntley - Peoples Dispatch - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- Want Sofia Richie Style? Try These Cheap Nordstrom Finds - Who What Wear - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- What will Saudi-Iran rapprochement mean for the Palestinians? - +972 Magazine - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- EU as Arbiter of Ideological Elegance? The European Conservative - The European Conservative - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- Catholic theology yesterday and today: A Thomist's response to Dr ... - Catholic World Report - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- Andy Warhol exhibition coming to College of DuPage - Chicago Tribune - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- COVER STORY | Arlo Parks Embraces the Intimacy of Aliveness - Paste Magazine - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- The Number Ones: The Black Eyed Peas' Boom Boom Pow - Stereogum - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- 7 First-time ASTRA Exhibitors You Don't Want to Miss This June - Gifts & Decorative Accessories - May 28th, 2023 [May 28th, 2023]
- Curator Lesley Lokko on the Venice Architecture Biennale: 'It's about ... - Financial Times - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- German revolution of 1848: A precursor to today's democracy - DW (English) - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam to open 21st August 2023 - Hospitality Net - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Ruin America? Joe Manchin is just getting started. | Will Bunch ... - The Philadelphia Inquirer - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- How the MTV logo captured the creative spirit of the 1980s - Creative Bloq - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- I give up I cant do that: The song that made David Crosby want to quit music - Far Out Magazine - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- How We Loved and Lost the Hot Girl Summer - The Swaddle - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- 5 Laid Back Essentials From Faherty Prove The Hype - Fatherly - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- 'How to Blow Up a Pipeline' director Daniel Goldhaber explains the ... - The Real News Network - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- The Totally Rockin' History of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem - Collider - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Was The Hunger Games Renaissance Planned All Along? - GameRant - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Michael J. Fox Looks Back on Hollywood Triumphs, Setbacks and Why Parkinsons Is the Gift That Keeps on Taking - Variety - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- It's Raining Ramen! A Brief History of Jewish Asian Fusion - Aish - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Ted Weber's Wesleyan Political Theology - Juicy Ecumenism - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- What do the British Royals and Cleopatra have in common? - Firstpost - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Pakistan Army won't bounce back easily this time. Imran Khan ... - ThePrint - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Five years since #MeToo, Tarana Burke is looking beyond the hashtag - Yahoo News - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- After Florence Pugh Freed The Nipple, Olivia Wilde Supported The Movement On New Magazine Cover - CinemaBlend - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Barbara Kay: The Movement to Normalize Pedophilia Hits a Roadblock, but We Mustn't Let Our Guard Down - The Epoch Times - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Is it Time to Decolonize Global Health Data? - Research Blog - Duke University - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Claire Foy Doesnt Think Women Talking Could Have Been Made Before #MeToo - Yahoo Entertainment - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- Can the Congress rewrite its chronicle of a death foretold? - Scroll.in - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- We need a strong nationalist as a president - Daily Sun - October 15th, 2022 [October 15th, 2022]
- The 19th Century Movement to Canonize Columbus - Catholic Exchange - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Audemars Piguet toasts 50 years of Royal Oak with new watches, book - New York Post - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Claire Foy Doesn't Think 'Women Talking' Could Have Been Made Before #MeToo - Yahoo! Voices - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Best Bets: 6 nights of live music at Wussow's and more - Duluth News Tribune - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Five Burning Questions: Bad Bunny Spends a 13th Week at No. 1 With Un Verano Sin Ti - Billboard - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- San Diego artist uses creativity to uplift Black culture and 'determine how we are seen' - The San Diego Union-Tribune - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- The Premier League at thirty - what should it sound like next? - Broadcast - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Steve Braunias on Peter Ellis case: 'Moral panic, contaminated evidence and an innocent ghost' - New Zealand Herald - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Constituency Statutes: The Overlooked Predecessor to the ESG Movement - JD Supra - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- 10 books to add to your reading list in October 2022 - Los Angeles Times - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The Multiple Religions Coexisting Within the Catholic Church - Crisis Magazine - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- 2023 Oscar Predictions The Rules of the Game - Awards Daily - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- Kathy Sheridan: Brace yourselves for where Giorgia Meloni and Italy end up - The Irish Times - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The rise and fall of Sir Philip Green, the retail king who fell from grace - Evening Standard - October 2nd, 2022 [October 2nd, 2022]
- The lying flat movement standing in the way of China ... - Brookings - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Namwali Serpell Distills the Disorienting Experience of Grief in 'The Furrows' - Shondaland.com - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- Dance & House Music Ruled the Summer. What Now? - Complex - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- It is time to back a new party in the elections - Morning Star Online - September 29th, 2022 [September 29th, 2022]
- The empty feminism of Dont Worry Darling - The Guardian - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Sunburn The morning read of what's hot in Florida politics 9.26.22 - Florida Politics - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- GOP candidate Trevor Lee ran a secret Twitter account that attacked LGBTQ people and Utah Gov. Cox. Now he's been rebuked by Republican leadership. -... - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Peeling Back the Slasher-Inspired Look of HBO Maxs Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin with Cinematographer Anka Malatynska - Dread Central - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]