“Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night’s Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.”
―The Night’s Watch Oath
Announcing the release of the Game of Thrones inspired song, “Night’s Watch”, from The Lonely Mountain Band.
From the award winning HBO epic, The Game of Thrones, The Night’s Watch are the military order that defend “The Wall”. The Wall is a 300 mile barrier of solid ice that separates the Seven Kingdoms from the dangers of the north, which they have done for thousands of years. Their oath of loyalty is one of sacrifice and eternal service.
Using this lore, The Lonely Mountain Band has created a powerful and haunting song that proclaims the very spirit and servitude of these “wandering crows”. John DiBartolo, Founder of Lonely Mountain Band member explains his motivation for the song, the appeal of the “Night’s Watch”, and their change in musical themes;
“I came to the Game of Thrones story kind of late. It was sometime after season two, that the buzz about the show was at a fever pitch and I couldn’t ignore at least taking a look at the first season. There was also Ted Nasmith’s paintings that lured me in.
When I was building my friend Ted’s website, I remember seeing his painting of “Castle Black and the Wall” and wondering what in the world is that huge ice wall? The image stuck in my mind, and even when I was writing the song, I kept going back and looking at the painting. I am always leery of starting new book series just because of the time constraints on my schedule, so I figured I would at least check out the show. Well, as so many people experience with this tale, I was hooked right from the first episode. I really like that the production level was so high, and the acting and story were top notch. I decided to follow the show before I read the books, which is a nice change from the previous experience of having known the Tolkien books so well before the movies.
One of the elements that drew me in was this story of the Wall, and the Rangers. I loved the way the supernatural elements were kind of scoffed at by some of the characters, kind of like our own world, nobody believes monsters are real, but a few folks still do. But here you have the Rangers, who are the only thing that stands between this creeping doom from the north, and they have to devote their whole life to keeping the evil north of the Wall.
The parallels between Tolkien’s Rangers were kind of obvious, this rag tag bunch that lies on the outskirts of society, but without them, the dark forces would have overrun Middle-earth. Most of their work and sacrifice goes unseen. I think a lot of people can identify with that, and I think it has a lot of spiritual implications for people today, so it resonates. Many people struggle today because they feel their personal sacrifices go unseen, and unrewarded. All the Rangers want, or at least take an oath to want, is to keep their honor intact. So there is a constant fight, and death is the only release from their post. When I heard the oath of the Rangers, I thought that would be a cool foundation for a song, and the mental connection to the Rangers in Tolkien’s world made it easy for me as a first song for Lonely Mountain Band that is totally from another story, another author.
To be honest, with the Game of Thrones so popular right now, I thought what a brilliant way to expose a wider audience to the music of the Lonely Mountain Band; because there will likely be a lot of crossover fans of J.R.R. Tolkien and George R.R. Martin. Even though I have only covered Tolkien’s material so far in the Lonely Mountain Band, I envisioned it from the beginning to be a music project that might explore various realms in fantasy, through this medium of “folk-fantasy’ music. I really do hope both Tolkien and George Martin fans are inspired by the song.”
But can we expect more Game of Thrones themed music from The Lonely Mountain Band?
“Perhaps. There are a lot of characters and threads to like in this tale. I would need to feel the same level of inspiration I did about the Night’s Watch. If hordes of people emailed me asking for more, that could help too.” – John DiBartolo
The Lonely Mountain Band
Inspired by the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lonely Mountain Band seeks to transport the listener to the lands of Middle-earth. The stories are re-told through the musical styles of acoustic folk, celtic and new age. Drawing on years of experience writing and performing Celtic Rock and Folk with Fathom and now KING KELTIC, John now combines that with his love of JRR Tolkien’s fantasy fiction.
This article, used by permission, originally appeared here: http://www.legendariummedia.com/2013/05/10/exclusive-game-of-thrones-inspired-song-nights-watch-by-the-lonely-mountain-band/
