I wanted to post this just to get it out of my head since it's bumping around. Okay, so in Skyrim there are two main pieces of musical propaganda: The Age of Agression/Oppression depending on whether or not you're in a town controlled by Imperials or Stormcloaks. But what about Ragnar the Red. At first glance, it doesn't seem political at all:



There once was a hero named Ragnar the Red, who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead!

And the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, as he told of bold battles and gold he had made!

But then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red, when he met the shieldmaiden Matilda who said...

"Oh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead! Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!"

And so then came the clashing and slashing of steel, as the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal!

And the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no moooooree... when his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!



So, a loudmouth ginger getting what was coming to him, right? Maybe more than that. First consider the name. Ragnar the Red, as in the color associated with the Empire. And then where he's coming from. Rorikstead. Namely a town purchased by an Imperial war veteran. What if the song is more symbolic of the sons and daughters of Skyrim getting tired of an old and increasingly impotent Empire living off its past deeds, rising up and slaying it?



I'm probably reading way too much into it, but just had to put that out there and see if anybody else had thought of this.

It′s a true story, I′m not sure if you know that, but

Now, if the music was adapted somehow, I couldn′t tell.

It is conjecture, not fact.

Speaking of songs, I made a Morrowind Parody of "America"

Shameless plug over *

That is one of those things that did never came into my mind before, but now makes absolutely sense.

On the other side, there are some funny conspiracy theories that did have the same effect. Here I'm skeptically because if that is a kind of code, there should be other references as well.

Like at least one Nord calling the Imperials the 'Red'. Or making any reference about Rorikstead as a symbol of imperial influence in the culture of Skyrim.

But all I ever hear, is that the guards refer about Rorikstead as nice, but boring.

There′s a chance that′s not even the same Rorikstead, since they refer to it as "ole" and there′s a different Rorik′s Steading mentioned in Holdings of Jarl Gjalund.



edit - btw I′m terribly sorry that I refer to it as "truth", nothing is true in elder scrolls

Oh on the contrary, everything is true in the elder scrolls even the lies. Especially the lies.

"Ragnar the Red" definitely sounds like a Nord name. So I'm thinking that's a bit of conjecture. Most imperials have "-ius" or "-us" in the their names, common with Greek or Latin nomenclature.