lucimea66

Lucy, She/her. In love with Star Wars, Marvel and other fandoms, but I also reblog/post about more serious things (ideals, politics, culture, etc.). Currently obsessed with mythology.

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The Feather Bed Song, Was That Made For Arya & Gendry? Or Do People Just Put Those Two Things Together

The feather bed song, was that made for arya & gendry? or do people just put those two things together

Do you mean was the song written in universe for Arya and Gendry? Almost certainly not considering it was already being sung by Tom when Arya and Gendry returned to Acorn Hall.

To my knowledge, it’s not a song that ever comes up elsewhere, one of the multiple reasons why it is so strongly associated with Arya and Gendry’s relationship.

But the only scene it is in is this:

“You look different now. Like a proper little girl.”

“I look like an oak tree, with all these stupid acorns.”

“Nice, though. A nice oak tree.” He stepped closer, and sniffed at her. “You even smell nice for a change.”

“You don’t. You stink.” Arya shoved him back against the anvil and made to run, but Gendry caught her arm. She stuck a foot between his legs and tripped him, but he yanked her down with him, and they rolled across the floor of the smithy. He was very strong, but she was quicker. Every time he tried to hold her still she wriggled free and punched him. Gendry only laughed at the blows, which made her mad. He finally caught both her wrists in one hand and started to tickle her with the other, so Arya slammed her knee between his legs, and wrenched free. Both of them were covered in dirt, and one sleeve was tom. on her stupid acorn dress. “I bet I don’t look so nice now,” she shouted.

Tom was singing when they returned to the hall.

My featherbed is deep and soft, and there I’ll lay you down,

I’ll dress you all in yellow silk, and on your head a crown.

For you shall be my lady love, and I shall be your lord.

I’ll always keep you warm and safe, and guard you with my sword.

Harwin took one look at them and burst out laughing, and Anguy smiled one of his stupid freckly smiles and said, “Are we certain this one is a highborn lady?” But Lem Lemoncloak gave Gendry a clout alongside the head. “You want to fight, fight with me! She’s a girl, and half your age! You keep your hands off o’ her, you hear me?”

“I started it” said Arya. “Gendry was just talking.”

“Leave the boy, Lem,” said Harwin. “Arya did start it, I have no doubt. She was much the same at Winterfell.”

Tom winked at her as he sang:

And how she smiled and how she laughed, the maiden of the tree.

She spun away and said to him, no featherbed for me.

I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves, and bind my hair with grass,

But you can be my forest love, and me your forest lass.Arya, ASoS

The moment preceding the introduction to the song is Arya and Gendry play wrestling and tickling, Gendry complimenting and sniffing her, ect. Probably the most overt case of romantic interaction between them.

And the song itself is framed by Arya and Gendry’s interactions. The first verse is sung right after the play wrestling, pauses while Lem tells Gendry to keep “his hands off of” Arya, Arya defending Gendry, and everyone talking about Arya/Gendry wrestling, and the second verse is specifically sung to Arya right afterwards.

“Tom winked at [Arya] as he sang”. It was about and to Arya the way it’s written in the text, though I assume that Tom didn’t write it for them (or even at all, who knows though.) But GRRM definitely did.

Notably, the song only appears once, in Arya’s narrative, framing a big Arya/Gendry interaction, and is sung to Arya.

Some people (for reasons unfathomable to me unless they are either just really against any idea of romance in Arya’s arc or Arya/Gendry) suggest that the song is just about Arya and not Gendry. They say that it refers to Arya’s rejection of a highborn girl’s life.

Any analysis of the song, however, proves that to be completely baseless. For starters, it frames a Gendry/Arya moment so distinctly despite the fact that Arya has multiple moments that are anti-typical highborn girl’s role with Tom (like not wanting to be dressed by Lady Smallwood earlier or being against being bathed and dressed by the women of the Peach,) so if that were it, the song would be placed there.

More importantly, and I’m not sure how anyone misses this but whatever, it’s a love song. The No Featherbed for Me song is about two people in love and how they make their relationship work to some extent. Two whole lines deal with marriage proposals of some kind:

From the lord (though arguably all his lines are marriage related):

For you shall be my lady love, and I shall be your lord.

And from the maiden:

But you can be my forest love, and me your forest lass

And of course, the maiden only says no to the idea of featherbeds and being a typical lord/lady couple. She very clearly still loves the lord. She’s smiling and laughing, not angry or defensive, and she wants to be with him.

The song isn’t just about a girl who doesn’t need protection, doesn’t need silks and gold and lords, it’s a love song. It’s about a couple in love. If it wasn’t, then we’d probably either see the Maiden in the Tree irritated or angry with the Lord or the exclusion of the final line. It’s made clear that the lord loves the maiden and the maiden loves the lord even if they have different concepts of how they can show it.

And this is so meaningful to Arya and Gendry for a few reasons.

One, it’s super obvious that Arya is the maiden of the tree. Besides Tom winking at her and singing to her for the maiden’s verse, Arya is at that moment covered in dirt (from her wrestling with Gendry,) is in a place called Acorn Hall, and is literally wearing a tree dress. I mean Arya even called herself a tree within a page with Gendry’s agreement:

“I look like an oak tree, with all these stupid acorns.”

“Nice, though. A nice oak tree.”

You actually can’t get any more blatant than that.

Two, GRRM literally wrote Arya and Gendry a love song. I think this one speaks for itself.

Three, the lord is also very clearly Gendry:

I’ll dress you all in yellow silk, and on your head a crown…

I’ll wear a gown of golden leaves

I wonder what the color yellow/gold in conjunction to a crown must mean… could never be the Baratheon family who rules Westeros (crown) and has the family colors gold/yellow and black. Gendry’s status as the eldest male son of Robert Bartheon is such an important part of his narrative.

But more importantly, Gendry’s class issues are so relevant here. He spends some time upset specifically about his and Arya’s class differences. Even the above except’s preceding lines has a moment like that:

“You can still make swords if you want,” said Arya. “You can make them for my brother Robb when we get to Riverrun.”

“Riverrun.” Gendry put the hammer down and looked at her. “You look different now. Like a proper little girl.”

And not long after that:

“Why did you say that?” Arya hopped to her feet. “You’re not my brother.” “That’s right,” he said angrily. “I’m too bloody lowborn to be kin to m’lady high.” Arya was taken aback by the fury in his voice. “That’s not the way I meant it.” “Yes it is.” He sat down on the bench, cradling a cup of wine between his hands.

“Too bloody lowborn” is a huge theme in Gendry’s arc, especially in conjunction to Arya herself. So the idea of a maiden rejecting the highborn lord/lady love for a forest love/lass has significance for their (potential future) relationship.

Four, okay, seriously GRRM wrote a love song for them. Can’t stress this one enough.

So while the song itself in universe was not written for them (assumably, we know little of it,) GRRM wrote the song for/about Gendry and Arya.

That’s why the Arya and Gendry shippers put the song with them, GRRM did, Tom did, it’s not even subtle actually.