Trogdor (song)
For the character, see Trogdor. For other uses, see Trogdor (disambiguation).
Burninating the countryside
"Trogdor" is a heavy metal theme song for the dragon of the same name. Lyrics describe his penchant for wreaking havoc on Peasantry: burninating the countryside, peasants and thatched-roof cottages; these three actions are constantly revisited in Trogdor-related media. The song's opening riff often serves as a leitmotif for the dragon, accompanying many appearances of or references to Trogdor.
The song originated alongside Trogdor himself, in the Strong Bad Email dragon — the email concludes with the song playing over a montage of illustrations. Though the cartoon had been nearly complete, Matt Chapman ad-libbed the song (the ending line is adapted from "and the dragon comes in the night!", which originated slightly earlier in the email guitar) and the brothers liked it so much they created the additional music video segment to close the email. In the DVD commentary, they credit the song for the success of the email and the enduring popularity of Trogdor.
Detailed Information
Album: Strong Bad Sings and Other Type Hits
Track: 1
Time: 1 minute 39 seconds
Artist(s): Strong Bad
Written by: Mike and Matt Chapman
Style: Power metal
Origin: Strong Bad Email #58 dragon
Tablature: Trogdor Tablature
Lyrics
TROGDOR!
TROGDOR!
Trogdor was a man!
I mean, he was a dragonman
Or, maybe he was just a dragon...
But he was still TROGDOR!
TROGDOR!
Burninating the countryside
Burninating the peasants
Burninating all the peoples
And their thatched-roof COTTAGES!
THATCHED-ROOF COTTAGES!
{guitar solos start up}
{spoken, overlapping} Whoa! Listen to those wicked dueling guitar solos! It's like Squeedly vs. Meedly over here. Go Squeedly...! Go Squeedly...! SQUEEDLY WINS!
When all the land is in ruin
And burnination has forsaken the countryside
Only one guy will remain
My money's on...
{singing}
TROGDOR!
TROGDOR!
{spoken}
And the Trogdor comes in the NIIIIIGHT!
Appearances
Sheet music
- Debut: Email dragon
- Downloads — The version of the song heard in "dragon" is available for download.
- TROGDOR! — The song's main riff plays over the game's title screen.
- Arcade Game — Gameplay audio is heard as the characters play the TROGDOR! arcade machine.
- Strong Bad Sings and Other Type Hits — The song is extended and wholly rerecorded with a new vocal track, heavier guitars, and an added bridge.
- "Trogdor" is featured in the commercial for the vinyl rerelease.
- Peasant's Quest — Elements of the song are integrated into the game's soundtrack.
- Peasant's Quest Preview — The riff plays at the end of the preview.
- Trogdor (karaoke) — Included on strongbad email.exe Disc Two.
- Peasant's Quest Movie Trailer — An orchestral version of the main riff plays as part of the score. The line "and the Trogdor comes in the night" is alluded to with characters' dialogue.
- Happy Trogday — Features the rerecorded version, sans solos and bridge.
- 8-Bit is Enough — The final episode of Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People prominently features Trogdor, and fittingly includes several renditions of his theme song.
- Poker Night at the Inventory — A jazz rendition is one of the game's several background music tracks.
- Trogdor!! The Board Game — The game has been described as being "based on the video game based on the song based on the drawing of the internet-famous Wingaling dragon!"
- The game's soundboard includes multiple renditions of the song.
- Trogdor!! The Board Game Playthrough — Mike Chapman explains that the goal of the game is to accomplish "the three things in the chorus of that song."
- Strong Bad Talking Plush — Audio from "dragon" of Strong Bad singing the song's opening line plays as one of the plush's voice lines.
- This voice line is demonstrated in the commercial.
- Stinkoman 20X6 — The fight with Mecha-Trogador in the tenth level features a remix of "Trogdor", composed by U.Z. Inu.
- Trogday Micro Game — A chiptune version of the song plays.
- This game was later reskinned as Burninate the Barnyard.
- Decemberweenvent Calendar (Day 23) — Sheet music for the song is provided, albeit with some alterations:
- The time signature is standardized to 4/4.
- The highest note in the bass line (the riff in the first four and last four measures) should be B-flat instead of A.
- In a tweet, Strong Bad blamed the goof on "those hacks at Cheap As Free Music".
- Burninate the Barnyard, accessible from the calendar entry, repeated the musical error.
Fun Facts
 Playing "Trogdor" in GH2. The song is credited to Strong Bad.
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 "Trogdor" listing in the Guitar Hero II store.
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Remarks
- The song is partially in an unusual time signature, 9/4 time.
- Additionally, there is a single 3/4 interruption immediately before Strong Bad begins screaming "thatched-roof cottages".
- The first verse haltingly describes Trogdor as "a man", "dragon-man", or "just a dragon". The concept of Trogdor being partially human (such as a weredragon) has almost never been revisited, and he is simply treated as "just a dragon" in all appearances excepting covers of the song.
Trivia
- The dueling guitar solos are performed by J. Christopher Arrison and Matt Sonnicksen, as discussed on The Brothers Chaps' Late Nite JengaJam appearance.
- The song is featured as an unlockable bonus track in the game Guitar Hero II. The song is notable for its difficulty: the notes per second during the solo exceeds the engine's strum limit (in the NTSC version).
- The loading screen reads, "For squeedlies, mash on the trembolo. For meedlies, tune up on your chord surpassers. Oh, and I'm awesome."
- An alternate version of the outro was posted to Twitter on December 3, 2018.
Inside References
- The onomatopoeia "meedly" was previously used to describe a guitar solo in the Strong Bad Email guitar.
Fast Forward
- The song has been a part of Limozeen's setlist at all of their live shows.
- A recording of the performance at their March 2008 show appears on the album Archive'd n' Live'd.
- Trogdor Was A Man reframes the song as a '70s jam by The Pow-uh Surge, a concept Strong Sad finds anachronistic.
External Links
- Listen to the original version of the song in "dragon"
- Listen to the original version of the song in "dragon" on the old Flash site
- view the Flash file for the original version of the song in "dragon"
- Listen to an abridged CD version of the song in "Happy Trogday"
- Listen to an abridged CD version of the song in "Happy Trogday" on the old Flash site
- view the Flash file for an abridged CD version of the song in "Happy Trogday"
- Listen to multiple versions of Trogdor on the Trogdor!! The Board Game Soundboard
