Music / NewsMusic / NewsPrithee! Bardcore is the medieval music trend taking over YouTubeFeaturing lute renditions of Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ and Radiohead’s ‘Creep’ShareLink copied ✔️June 23, 2020June 23, 2020TextGünseli Yalcinkaya Grab yer lute because thine best bangers on thee internet are getting a medieval makeover! In a strange turn of events, people have started uploading medieval covers of modern classics (think: Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” and Radiohead’s “Creep”) onto YouTube – and they’re getting millions of hits. Called Bardcore (from the Celtic word “bard” meaning ‘poet’ or ‘storyteller’), the trend sees creators rework songs using lutes, fiddles, and harps, as well as re-writing lyrics in olde worlde style. While medieval covers of popular songs can be found in the depths of YouTube, the Bardcore trend appears to have blown up in the past month. In the last week, approximately 100 medieval covers of modern pop songs have appeared on the site. There’s even a Bardcore sub-reddit with over 600 members. Among them is YouTube user Cornelius Link’s lute rendition of Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks”, which has already racked up over 3.7 million views. Most notably, the chorus lyrics had been changed from “All the other kids with the pumped up kicks” to “All ye bully-rooks with your buskin boots”. Another user, Hildegard von Blingin’, made a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”, which has nearly four million views. The cover reimagines the instrumentals of the track with a Celtic harp, recorders, and whistles, and tweaks the lyrics to: “I want thy love and all thy lover’s revenge. Thee and me could write a bad romance”. Hildegard’s medievil cover of Radiohead’s “Creep”, which is complete with updated lyrics like, “Thou art like an angel / Thy skin makes me cry”, has three million views. There’s also medieval bops of Sia’s “Chandelier”, Linkin Park’s “Numb”, Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used To Know”, and even the “Mii channel theme”. Check them out below. Escape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy Expand your creative community and connect with 15,000 creatives from around the world.READ MORETOMORA are the dance-pop superduo out to ‘connect unexpected people’If Geese are a psy-op, so is everything else Nike Nike’s ‘wild card’ Team Kits are already in actionA deep dive into the fan-led SOPHIE archive projectThe secret history of Black British musicSilvana Estrada: ‘Bad Bunny is my hero, but Latin America is a continent’ The ultimate guide to music festivals in 2026Stop calling Justin Bieber’s Coachella set ‘lazy’Xaviersobased’s online obsessions: NBA 2K, skate videos and NickelodeonQueer nightlife is thriving in Bucharest’s abandoned backroomsThe rise of Rico Ace in 5 tracksSwedish House Mafia unpack their Miami Ultra festival mega-setEscape the algorithm! Get The DropEmail address SIGN UP Get must-see stories direct to your inbox every weekday. Privacy policy Thank you. You have been subscribed Privacy policy