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You assume that, when this was played in Die Walkure, a crew of badass, spear-wielding chicks must have been up on the stage engaged in some serious goddamn lady-fighting.

The Original Context:

Or, you know, nothing. And not nothing in a "those Valkyries aren't throwing their spears yet" sort of way. It's more like nothing in a "the lights are off and the curtain is down and literally nothing is happening" sort of way.

Yeah, this song is played as an overture before the show starts.

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Wait, What?

Here's your scene: One of the coolest and fightingest songs ever recorded plays while the audience is sitting politely and staring at a curtain. It's sort of a way for the composer to pump up the audience, but not for a battle, for a show. When the curtain rises and the Valkyries finally do show up, the rest of the song is used as background music while the eight Valkyries greet one another before a day's work. No fighting, no raging. They pretty much just stand around on a mountain and shoot the bull over some sort of ancient Norse water cooler. It's like using a series of explosions as the opening song of an episode of Frasier.

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We also suggest you listen to "Ride of the Valkyries" before you read our new book. You should actually just probably listen to it while you read it also.

And learn more about your favorite things in 5 Pop Culture Classics Created Out of Laziness and 6 Classics Despised by the People Who Created Them.

And stop by Linkstorm to see puppies playing to "O Fortuna."

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