The Tale of The Mad King Thorn (Maklain)

#1 - Sept. 25, 2014, 10:11 a.m.

Hello everybody,

Halloween is approaching and a few days ago I looked up The Tale of The Mad King Thorn made and sung by our greatest Maklain The Minstrel (fanboy speech).

I found the song on the Soundcloud of Arenanet: https://soundcloud.com/arenanet/the-tale-of-the-mad-king-thorn.
After learning this song (to sing it under the shower), I noticed that in the Soundcloud-version verse 2 and 3 are the same.

Here’s an example of the complete Tale with the three different verses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4zjJ0M6Ni0.

My question is why the Soundcloud-version isn’t the right version with the three different verses. Why is verse 2 in the Soundcloud-version the same as verse 3?
Is this a mistake or is there a unknown reason that they did it this way?

I would love a Soundcloud-version with all the right verses in a good quality, because I really like how The Minstrel sings his Tale to the people of Tyria and maybe I can spread his words among others.

For those who are interested in the lyrics:

I’ve a tale filled with horror and gore,
Of the tyrant from days of yore,
So lend my your ear and I’ll fill it with fear,
As I sing of the Mad King Thorn,
Be afraid of the Mad King Thorn.

He’s a rotten man to the core,
Throwing feasts while starving the…uh…poor,
’Twas a terror in life to subjects and wives,
Beware of the Mad King Thorn,
Be afraid of the Mad King Thorn.

There’s an evil beginning to form,
Like the clouds of a gathering storm,
After so many years he might finally appear,
Be afraid of the Mad King Thorn,
Be afraid of the Mad King Thorn.

Regards,
Cerbeius

Gaile Gray

#2 - Sept. 25, 2014, 4:04 p.m.

Interesting question. We might hear from one of our sound team on this subject, if they have time to answer. (No promises but it’s possible. )

Gaile Gray

#4 - Sept. 26, 2014, 6:47 p.m.

I sure hope so! I’d miss my favorite madman if he doesn’t show up.

Maclaine Diemer

#5 - Sept. 30, 2014, 8:28 p.m.

Hi Cerbeius,

First off, thanks for listening to Maklain’s “singing” so closely.

You’ve made me realize that I made a mistake in putting together the file that I uploaded to Soundcloud. In the original Halloween event in 2012, the third verse of Maklain had two different versions. The first had the following line:

“After so many years, he might finally appear…”

It played for the first few days of the event. Then, when the Mad King escaped from his realm and destroyed the fountain in Lion’s Arch, the line changed to this:

“After so many years, he’s finally appeared…”

But, taking after my minstrel counterpart, when I put together the file to upload to Soundcloud, I made a mistake and included the two versions of the third verse and left out the second verse. Whoops! I’ll fix this very soon and upload the proper version. I’ll announce it in this thread when I do.

Thanks again for pointing it out!

Maclaine Diemer

#8 - Oct. 21, 2014, 3:29 p.m.

I’ve uploaded a new version of this that includes all the verses. Sorry for the wait, but doing it today seems appropriate. Enjoy!

https://soundcloud.com/arenanet/the-tale-of-the-mad-king-thorn