Why there is Burn, Butcher, Burn in The Witcher Season 2?

If you have watched The Witcher Season one, you must remember the song ‘Toss a Coin to Your Witcher,”. Sung by Joey Batey who has the role of Bard Jaskier in the show it is one of the notable features of this show.

They did not disappoint us with the arrival of season 2. Yes, we are talking about the “Burn, Butcher, Burn,” which is as amazing as its predecessor in the last season.

So if your memories of that music piece were somehow blurred, here it is to refresh your memory of the circumstance and the situation in the show. Why on earth is the bard so angry at his friend Geralt? Want to know?

What is Burn Butcher Burn about?

If you could recall, Geralt in the beginning got the name ‘The Butcher of Blaviken,” which refers to the blood which the witcher had to shed during the fight related to the exiled princess Renfri and the mage Stregobor.

In the words of the Burn Butcher Burn lyrics, there are many mysteries to be found. It is not just to irk Geralt, but other reasons too. So let’s get back to the story to explore more.

Renfri had lost her kingdom just because she was born during an eclipse. Poor Geralt was there pleading and persuading princess Renfri to go back on her strongly held idea of revenge. But her group of mercenaries had other ideas.

They refused to yield and in the ensuing fight, Geralt had to defend himself as well as rescue the innocent bystanders who later pointed at him for the one who caused the trouble.

Now Jaskier is aware that his friend will be stirred up by this moniker. But it is not just this reason. There is also an effective and proven way to hide a real story behind the lyrics. It starts recalling the fact that the Witcher and bard went on separate ways, as the circumstances dictated.

Jaskier would know this particular nickname would be hurtful to his old friend, but it’s also an effective way to hide a true story in the lyrics of a song. “Burn, Butcher, Burn” begins with a reminder that the bard and the witcher parted under uncertain circumstances:

Remember the time, when the two were alongside each other. When the herds of fighters, seeking the fortunes, traveled to the lofty mountains to kill a dragon as mentioned by Jaskier in “Voleth Meir,”

Jaskier himself spent most of the time on the journey to the mountains, trying to persuade his old friend, Butcher of Blaviken to leave the caravan and head to the coast.

As we know the witcher was not willing to do that for many reasons. One for the fact that Yennefer was participating in the hunt, and two, so far bard was the reason for most of his problems.

As he shows his disappointment, the pair had had their adventures. Recalling from the earlier season the two had been captured by elves and the bard had released a djinn due to his sloppy acts, which almost cost the two their lives along with that of Yennefer.

The list of troubles is long and lengthy. So Geralt blamed his friend for the troubles and difficulties in his life and left him in the camp before the ensuing dragon encounter. To make things worse, Yennefer rejected Witcher, and while hurt from multiple anguishing experiences his views about his friends changed.

He openly blamed his friend bard who then in anger parted ways with him. Hurt from his friend’s attitude bard went on to others to know about the dragon from other fortune seekers.

But we know that, if not for the encounters with the djinn, how could Geralt meet Yennefer. At first, though he rejected the notion of a child of destiny, later formed a link with Ciri, that proved crucial for his fulfillment and Ciri’s survival too.

So it is safe to assume that this trouble brought upon him by his friends was actually blessings in disguise. Yet he in angst and anger was blinded to the reality.  Though the friends eventually reconcile bard is still hurt by his friend’s attitude and he has scars from this experience.

This is why there is a repetition of “Burn! Burn, Butcher, burn! Burn, Butcher, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn…” yet never enough to assuage his hurt feelings.

Final Words

Burn Butcher Burn is all about the story of two friends who in the flow of words forget that they are friends no matter what. The situation may seem that one is bringing misfortune for the other, yet it is not the whole story. So watch the full story and get the idea of why there is Burn, Butcher, Burn in season 2.