Hold Steady record bear-centric drinking song for 'Game of Thrones'

Is rowdy bar rock true to "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin's vision? The folks behind HBO's wildly popular TV adaptation think so, as they tabbed the Hold Steady to record a song for the epic fantasy show's anticipated third season.

“The Bear And The Maiden Fair” - featuring lyrics by Martin and music by composer Ramin Djawadi - isn't a stretch for the Brooklyn rockers. Showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss told Entertainment Weekly the tune is meant for taverns and celebrations.

Here's Benioff and Weiss to EW:

"As with the National, we went after one of our favorite bands and were happily surprised when they agreed to do it. This is one of the most popular songs in Westeros, beloved by nobles and commoners alike, sung at taverns and feasts and etc. We wanted our rendition to be bawdy and a little sloppy — drunken musicians getting up on the table and jamming while the rowdy party continues around them. There was no one better for the job than the Hold Steady, and the song they delivered has been stuck in our heads for the last four weeks.”

The National recorded "The Rains of Castamere" for the hit series last year:

The Hold Steady plans to release the song on a special Record Store Day 7-inch April 20. This isn't even frontman Craig Finn's first time singing about bears. His Minneapolis band Lifter Puller inexplicably played "The Bears" on "The Jenny Jones Show" in 1999. 

You can't listen to “The Bear And The Maiden Fair” yet, but you can practice singing along:

“A bear there was,”
“A bear, A BEAR!
“All black and brown,”
“And covered with hair!

“Oh come they said,”
“Oh come to the fair!”
“The fair? said he,
“But I’m a bear!”
“All black and brown,”
“And covered in hair!”

“And down the road,”
“From here to there,”
“From here!To there!”
“Three boys, a goat,”
“And a dancing bear!”
“They danced and spun,”
“All the way to the fair!”

“Oh! sweet she was,”
“And pure and fair,”
“The maid with honey,”
“In her hair! Her hair,”
“The maid with honey,”
“in her hair!”

The bear smelled the scent,
“On the summer air!”
“The Bear! The Bear!”
“All black and brown,”
“And covered with hair!”
“He smelled the scent,”
“On the summer air,”
“He sniffed and roared,”
“And smelled it there!”
“Honey on the summer air!”

“Oh I’m a maid,”
“And I’m pure and fair,”
“I’ll never dance,”
“With a hairy bear,”
“A bear! A bear!”
“I’ll never dance,”
“With a hairy bear!”

“The bear,the bear!”
“Lifted her high,”
into the air!”
The bear, the bear!”

“I called for a knight!”
“But you’re a bear!”
“A bear! A bear,”
“All black and brown,”
“And cover in hair!”

“She kicked and wailed,”
“The maid so fair,”
“But he licked the honey,”
“From her hair!”
“Her hair! Her hair!”
“He licked the honey,”
“From her hair!”

“Then she sighed and squealed,”
“And kicked the air,”
“She sang: My bear so fair,”
“And off they went,”
“The bear! The bear!”
“And the maiden fair!”