The lyrics were written by George R. R. Martin in the novel A Storm of Swords, published in 2000, and the song was composed by Ramin Djawadi in 2011, upon request from the television series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.
The stanza of the song that appears in the novels and is adapted for the television series tells of the vassals' defiance – "And who are you, the proud lord said / That I must bow so low?"
The season 2 soundtrack contains a rendition of the song "The Rains of Castamere" by the indie rock band The National, sung by their vocalist Matt Berninger.
In episode 2 of season 4 ("The Lion and the Rose"), the Icelandic band Sigur Rós makes a cameo appearance as musicians performing their rendition of "The Rains of Castamere" at Joffrey and Margaery's wedding.
A new version of the song was released on the Season 8 soundtrack featuring Serj Tankian of the Armenian-American heavy metal band System of a Down on lead vocals.