Game Of Thrones season 7 episode 1: Ed Sheeran cameo took on an extra significance for book readers

For she was his secret treasure / she was his shame and his bliss

After months of waiting, Game of Thrones has finally returned, the premiere featuring numerous long-loved characters, along with a rather controversial appearance by a certain pop-star.

**Spoilers for season seven, episode one, ‘Dragonstone’ ahead**

Yes, Glastonbury headliner Ed Sheeran cameoed during the episode, leading to a rather mixed reaction from the Internet, some calling out how unsubtle the appearance is.

Whatever you thought of Sheeran’s acting credentials, his cameo took on an extra significance for book readers, all thanks to the song.

Titled “Hands of Gold,” the tune makes an appearance in George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. A bard named Symon Silver Tongue uses the song to blackmail Tyrion Lannister as the words concern the character’s secret lover, Shae.

He rode through the streets of the city,

down from his hill on high, O’er the wynds and the steps and the cobbles,

he rode to a woman’s sigh.

For she was his secret treasure,

she was his shame and his bliss.

And a chain and a keep are nothing,

compared to a woman's kiss

For hands of gold are always cold, but a woman’s hands are warm. . .

Also in the books, Tyrion sings the song’s final line while killing Shea with his father’s chain wrapped around her neck.

Of course, we’re far beyond those events, making it slightly unlikely Sheeran’s song actually is still about Tyrion. Then again, there is another Lannister with a “secret treasure” whose lover is both “shame and bliss”…

Also this episode, Lyanna Mormont proved herself a feminist hero once more. Read our review and recap here.