Netflix’s The Witcher was a big hit with the audience thanks to its action, monsters, and it’s peculiar narrative style, but there’s one thing that became viral: Jaskier’s song “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”. The documentary Making The Witcher didn’t forget about the song, and it explains why it’s perfect (and so catchy). Based on the book series of the same name by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher made its debut on Netflix in December 2019, and it was so well-received it might be the streaming giant’s biggest first TV season ever. The Witcher will not only continue expanding with a second season, but also with an animated series and a live-action prequel miniseries.
The Witcher follows the stories of three characters, set in different places and points in time, and whose paths converge at the end of the season. Those characters are the title witcher Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and the crown princess of Cintra, Ciri (Freya Allan). Although their stories have a lot of drama, there was also time for a bit of comedy and more light-hearted moments, most of them coming from Jaskier (Joey Batey), a traveling bard who joins Geralt, much to the witcher’s despair. Jaskier came up with a song that made Geralt’s work quite popular, and in the real-world the song was also a hit, becoming an internet sensation and getting lots of different covers. The success of "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher" can be attributed to how it was made, as there’s a lot more to it than just a catchy melody.
Until season 2 is released, Netflix treated The Witcher fans to a behind-the-scenes look at how season 1 was made. The short documentary Making The Witcher includes interviews with showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, the writers, producers, and the cast, among those Joey Batey, who shared the story behind the making of “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher”. Composed by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli, “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” made its debut very early in the series, specifically in the episode “Four Marks”, where Jaskier becomes fascinated with Geralt’s work and decides to tag along, writing songs about his missions. Batey explains that they found that the song has a “folk quality to it”, and wanted to be reminiscent of “those folk songs of the days of yore”. Batey adds that there’s “a Celtic twang to it” but also a bit of pop, which makes it so catchy.
Beyond the music of it, made in a way that viewers won’t be able to get it out of their heads for days, “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” is a good example of public relations in the universe of The Witcher. Jakier’s song isn’t entirely honest, which Geralt immediately points out, asking where is his “new-found respect”, with Jaskier replying that “respect doesn’t make history”. As Batey points out, Jaskier understands something that Geralt (who doesn’t have the best social skills) doesn’t: in order to make it through the world, sometimes you have to embellish things a little bit, which definitely explains why Jaskier, who can be clumsy sometimes and can easily get into trouble, has been able to survive.
“Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” was made to be catchy both in-universe and in real life, though Netflix and the team behind The Witcher were still taken by surprise by how popular it became. It’s unknown if The Witcher season 2 will feature another hit by Jaskier, who is confirmed to return, but at least there will always be “Toss A Coin To Your Witcher” and its many covers.