Small Council: What was the best musical track from Game of Thrones season 7?
Every year brings a new season of Game of Thrones, and every year, composer Ramin Djawadi knocks it out of the park. What was the best track he composed for Game of Thrones season 7? Read our takes, tell us yours, and vote in the poll! Below is a key for quick access.
- “Dragonstone” — 01:53-06:58
- “Shall We Begin” — 06:59–08:22
- “The Queen’s Justice” — 08:23–09:44
- “A Game I Like To Play” — 09:45–11:30
- “I Am The Storm” — 11:31–17:53
- “The Gift” — 17:55–19:59
- “Dragonglass” — 20:00–24:20
- “Spoils of War (Part 1) — 24:21–28:10
- “Spoils of War (Part 2) — 28:11–32:14
- “The Dagger” — 32:15–34:47
- “Home” — 34:48–37:17
- “Gorgeous Beasts” — 37:18–39:30
- “The Long Farewell” — 39:31–42:16
- “Against All Odds” — 42:17–50:05
- “See You for What You Are” — 50:06–52:14
- “Casterly Rock” — 52:15–54:38
- “A Lion’s Legacy” — 54:39–56:13
- “Message for Cersei” — 56:14–57:55
- “Ironborn” — 57:56–1:00:14
- “No One Walks Away from Me” — 1:00:15–1:02:27
- “Truth” — 1:02:28–1:05:58
- “The Army of the Dead” — 1:05:59–1:11:26
- “Winter Is Here” — 1:11:27–1:14:19
COREY: My choice is… the Main Titles! Just kidding.
As iconic as that opening theme is, I was partial to “Home” (34:48-37:17). To say Ramin Djawadi does great work is an understatement. He hit a home run with this mournful reworking of the “Goodbye Brother,” which over the seasons has basically become the Stark theme song — “Home” plays as Arya slowly surveys the courtyard of Winterfell when she returns in “The Spoils of War.”
As Arya sits and takes in the changes to her childhood home, the oh-so-subtle Stark theme hums along in the background. There is no dialogue competing for your attention. Djawadi’s score is front and center, and carries the emotional weight of the scene. It’s a powerful moment. Rather than rejoicing in Arya’s return to Winterfell after she’s spent so much time away, we are forced by the score to contemplate how much Arya has changed in that time.
Although not an entirely new piece of work, the Stark Theme holds up. The Starks are light on fanfare and ornamentation compared to the other great houses of Westeros, and so is their theme. Using mostly mournful strings, “Home” is a barebones arrangement that suits the cold nature of Westeros’ favorite family. Djawadi knows his subject well, and we should all recognize his mastery.
DAN: Every year, Djawadi does a great job of remixing his old songs for new effect, but it’s always his original stuff that I like best. For season 7, my favorite tune has to be the Jon-Dany love theme. It pops up in several tracks but finds its fullest expression in “Truth,” which plays over that one scene on the boat. You know the one.
Like all of Djawadi’s themes, this tune can be repurposed for any number of situations, but it works best here, played slowly by mournful strings, stirring but somber, simple and straightforward. The six-note central melody is easy to remember, more direct and iconic than even the main motif from “Goodbye Brother,” aka the Stark theme. And the way he plays it over and over again in “Truth,” adding fuller instrumentation each time…well, it’s enough to stir the soul even if you hear it without context. This song will kill at the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience later this year.
I’m a big fan of Djwadi’s war themes, too, particularly the stuff he whipped up for “The Spoils of War,” but I feel like “Truth” is the track I’ll remember best from season 7.
RAZOR: I find myself drawn to the music from the Loot Train Attack, everything that plays from the moment the Dothraki appear to the uplifting-yet-terrifying swell that heralds Drogon’s arrival. And at the end, Djawadi tears out our hearts with a mourning version of main melodic line from “The Rain from Castamere,” which plays over the moment when Tyrion and Jaime watch their family’s forces burned to cinders.
SEBASTIAN: Full disclosure, dear reader: My taste in music is rather far from the mainstream. About half of the music I hear is metal and half of that half is on the harder site of metal. So I might not be the best judge of this kind of music and my opinion on this one is surely influenced by what my ears are used to.
Ramin Djawadi’s music is probably the one thing about Game of Thrones that even the most bitter show -aters can agree is incredibly good. While I don’t think there was any episode of season 7 where the music played as dominant a role as in the season 6 finale, it stayed true to the high standard he has set.
You could really choose any track on the list, but I’ll go with “I Am the Storm” (in the absence of the track that plays when Theon finds his (metaphorical) testicular fortitude while Harrag discovers his lack of (literal) testicles). “I Am the Storm” is intense and worthy of an epic battle, even if the battle itself is anticlimactic. But if you just enjoy the music and the great visuals, the burning ships in the middle of the night, it is beautiful.
DAN: Before we turn things over to you guys, I have to give it up for one more song: “Dragonglass,” the tune that plays when Jon is showing Dany around the caves beneath Dragonstone. The track changes about halfway through, with a moody crawl as the pair see the drawings of the White Walkers and a compressed version of the Jon-Dany love theme when Dany (again) asks Jon to bend the knee, but the beginning is what stands out to me. As we see just how much dragonglass is hanging off the walls, the soundtrack swells with bold horns and celebratory strings in a way that reminds of the work John Williams has done for Steven Spielberg — I’m thinking specifically of the moment in Jurassic Park when Sam Neil first lays eyes on the brontosaurus. It’s a “holy fuck” track suitable for a “holy fuck” moment. And while seeing a bunch of special rocks isn’t as miraculous as seeing dinosaurs for the first time, Djawadi’s score helps it feel like it is.
What was your favorite track from season 7? Vote in the poll below! You can choose up to three songs.
What was the best musical track from Game of Thrones season 7?
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