What Daemon Sings in High Valyrian (Translation & Meaning) | Pretty Reel

WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for the House of the Dragon Season 1 finale, “The Black Queen.” Daemon sings a haunting High Valyrian lullaby to the Vermithor in the Season 1 finale of House of the Dragon, which has an appropriate meaning in English. House of the Dragon correctly used the fictional High Valyrian language of Game of Thrones, with Daemon and Rhaenyra often speaking in their ancestral dialect for secrecy and to add more power to their words. Episode 10 of House of the Dragon is the first time any of the characters are heard singing in High Valyrian, as Daemon sings a lullaby to calm and potentially bond with the riderless dragon Vermithor.

The title of Daemon’s lullaby in House of the Dragon is “Hāros Bartossi”, which translates to “With Three Heads” in English. Game of Thrones language creator David J. Peterson added another stanza to the song in his English translation to properly convey the meaning of the lullaby, which is a haunting melody about dragons, their connection to the house Targaryen and maybe even the prince that was. Promised prophecy. Since Daemon’s Lullaby succeeded in calming Vermithor, it’s possible the song was once sung to the dragon by its previous rider, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen. Here is the English translation of the song High Valyrian by Daemon (via David J. Peterson):

“Fire eater

winged chief

But two heads

To a third sing

In my voice:

The fires have spoken

And the price has been paid

With blood magic

With words of flame

With clear eyes

To link the three

For you I sing

As one we come together

And three-headed

We will fly as we were destined

Beautifully, freely »

What Do Daemon’s Dragon Song Lyrics Really Mean

As beautiful as the lullaby is without any context, Daemon’s Dragon Song is far more powerful when it comes to discerning its true meaning. The first stanza describes three dragons, but more importantly, seems to describe three Targaryens: Aegon the Conqueror and his sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys. The second stanza of the song High Valyrian from House of the Dragon refers to blood magic sacrifices made in Valyria, presumably by the Targaryens. The lyrics of the stanza also seemingly describe the Doom of Valyria, as the land has been devastated by fire and natural disasters. Valyria’s Doom has been theorized to be caused by blood magic, suggesting that Doom was the “price” to be paid for such sorcery.

While the “words of flame” in the song’s third stanza could represent Aegon’s dream and his inscription of the prophecy in the Valyrian catspaw dagger, it may also refer to a Valyrian wedding ceremony to “bind the three Targaryen in Marriage by Fire. and blood. The marriage between the conquerors Aegon, Visenya and Rhaenys is the reason why the sigil of House Targaryen is a three-headed dragon, which is represented by the lyrics of the fourth stanza of the House of the Dragon Lullaby. All three Targaryens can fly freely in Westeros, “destined” being a crucial translation that applies to Aegon’s prophecy.

How Vermithor Fits Into House Of The Dragon’s Future

Warning! SPOILERS ahead for GRRM’s Fire & Blood book and future House of the Dragon episodes! The scene in Episode 10 of House of the Dragon of Daemon singing to Vermithor in High Valyrian wasn’t random at all, as this dragon will be the key to the power of the Dark Party. Aside from Vermithor, Daemon sets up the introduction of six new dragons in the future of House of the Dragon, several of which will be claimed by the “dragon seeds” (bastards of Targaryen and Velaryon). In order to bolster the armies of the Blacks, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon summons men to attempt to tame the riderless dragons on Dragonstone, with one character successfully claiming Vermithor. He will be ridden by Hugh Hammer, a silver-haired bastard on Dragonstone who fights in several battles for Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.