How to Write Songs About Magic

You want a song that feels like a spell. You want lyrics that sparkle, melodies that lift the hair on the back of the neck, and a story that makes listeners believe in something impossible for three minutes. Magic songs can be whimsical, dangerous, funny, and heartbreaking. This guide gives you practical tools to write them fast and well.

Everything here is written for artists who want results. Expect weird prompts, real life scenarios that make imagery click, a vocabulary for music terms, and concrete exercises you can do right now. We will cover idea selection, lyric devices for mystical language, melody and prosody checks so lines land, arrangement moves that make your magic feel big, and finishing tactics that get songs ready for fans and playlists.

Why write songs about magic

Magic is a great subject because it is a metaphor machine. It lets you talk about love, loss, power, and identity with just enough distance to be poetic and just enough heat to be relatable. A magic image can be literal like a stage trick or metaphorical like casting a spell that rewrites your lover. Your job is to pick the angle that feels like you and then commit to it.

• It lets you dramatize change because spells imply transformation.
• It amplifies stakes because magic is dangerous or forbidden in many stories.
• It gives you playful language such as incantations, potions, mirrors, and cards.
• It connects to fantasy and folklore which are evergreen emotional triggers for listeners.

Pick your magic type

Not all magic is the same. Choose a lens early. Each lens has different lyric rules and musical colors.

Domestic magic

Everyday enchantment. Think coffee that remembers your name, plants that move when you sing, or a ring that warms to say hello. Use small objects and sensory detail. Real life scenes make the wonder believable.

Ritual magic

Candles, circles, chants, and rules. This style loves repetition and rhythm. A steady meter in the melody that mimics a chant works well. Short repeating phrases feel like an incantation.

Stage magic

Flashy and theatrical. Great for big pop hooks and showstopper choruses. Use bravado and smoke and mirrors. This style can be sarcastic or celebratory depending on tone.

Dark witchcraft

Grim, dangerous, and seductive. Use minor tonalities, low register melodies, and imagery that tastes like copper and rain. This lens is perfect for breakup songs where the narrator is complicit in harm.

Urban street magic

Card tricks on subway stairs, sleight of hand at a corner. Use conversational language and specific locations. This makes the magic feel lived in and believable.

Start with an emotional promise

Before you write any lines pick a single emotional promise. A promise is a short sentence that says what the song will deliver emotionally. This keeps your magic from drifting into random sparkle. Write it like a text to a friend.

Examples

• I can make you stay for one night only.
• The spell broke me and then made me whole.
• I found love in a trick jar and I do not trust it.
• I am the kind of person who steals thunder from thunderheads.

Turn that sentence into a working title. Short is good. Concrete is better. A title like Stay For One Night or Trick Jar instantly tells the listener the song world.

Structure choices for magic songs

Magic songs benefit from strong repetition because rituals and chants build a trance. But you also need movement so the listener does not get stuck. Here are three structure templates that work.

Structure A: Verse, Pre chorus, Chorus, Verse, Pre chorus, Chorus, Bridge, Chorus

Use the pre chorus to build a chant like rhythm and the chorus as the incantation. Repeating the chorus after the bridge with a small addition gives the sense of the spell taking effect.

Structure B: Intro hook, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Post chorus, Bridge, Final chorus

Open with a short hook that feels like a spell fragment. The post chorus can be a syllabic chant or an earworm phrase that acts like a talisman.

Structure C: Cold open with spoken incantation, Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Breakdown, Final chorus

Spoken intro sets the scene. The breakdown gives you a place to change the rules mid song. Maybe the spell fails or the narrator changes their mind.

Lyric devices that make magic feel real

Magic lyrics walk a careful line. Too ornate and the listener checks out. Too literal and you lose the wonder. Use these devices to keep balance.

Concrete props

Give magic an object. The object makes the scene tactile. A bell, a jar, a pocket watch, a matchbook. When you name a thing you anchor the listener.

Real life scenario: You are late for work and your key fob glows. You do not have time for spells but the glow feels like an apology. That single detail makes the rest of the verse feel cinematic.

Rules and consequences

Every spell has rules. Tell one rule and one consequence. Rules make your world believable and consequences make it dramatic.

Example rule: You cannot say the true name. Consequence: The moon shows up at noon in your neighbor's backyard.

Incantation as chorus

Create a chorus that reads like an incantation. Use repetition and rhythm. Repeat a small phrase three times for stakes and musical memory.

Counter spells

Introduce a line that feels like the opposite of the chorus. This creates tension. The listener expects release. The counter spell delays that release and makes the chorus more satisfying when it arrives.

False magic

Sometimes what looks like magic is just someone being small and brave. Use this device for relatable songs about growth and recovery.

Prosody and melody for spell like lines

Prosody means the natural stress of words and how they line up with musical beats. If a strong word is on a weak beat the line will feel wrong even if the words are perfect. We will check prosody and melody in three steps.

1. Speak the line out loud. Record yourself talking it. Where do your natural stresses fall. Mark those words.
2. Tap the beat. Clap or tap a simple pulse and try to speak the line along with it. If stressed words fall off the pulse change the melody or the line.
3. Adjust vowel shapes. For big emotional moments choose open vowels like ah, oh, and ay. For secretive whispers choose closed vowels like ee and ih.

Magic choruses often use open vowels because they want to feel expansive and ritual like. If your chorus feels small try moving two syllables up in range or stretching a vowel into a long note on the key spell word.

Melodic shapes that feel enchanted

• Leaping title. Use a small leap into the title word to give a sense of arrival. A leap is a jump in pitch that makes a phrase feel magical.
• Stepwise descent after leap. After the leap let the melody step down. The leap grabs attention and the stepwise motion feels like the spell settling.
• Repetition with variation. Repeat the melodic motif but change one note on the last repeat. This is like altering an incantation and signals a shift in the song story.

Harmony and chord choices for different magic moods

Harmony sets the tonal color. These are quick palettes and why they work.

• Major with suspended chords for wonder and warmth. A suspended chord delays resolution and feels like a held breath. Use it in the verse to hint at the chorus.
• Minor with modal mixture for danger and mystery. Modal mixture means borrowing a chord from a parallel key to change color. Example: In A minor borrow an A major to brighten a moment.
• Pendant drones and pedal tones for ritual. Hold a bass note while chords change above. That steady low tone feels like an altar.
• Chromatic falling bass for sleight of hand. A descending chromatic bass line can give unease or glamour depending on rhythm.

Arrangement moves that sell magic

Arrangement is your wardrobe. It tells listeners whether the song is a candlelit ritual or a big stage trick.

Small ritual arrangement

• Piano or guitar with sparse percussion
• Breathy vocal for verses
• Layered harmonies in chorus that feel like many voices chanting
• Field recording or subtle sound design like a kettle or a match strike to anchor the scene

Big stage trick arrangement

• Synth leads and punchy drums
• Giant reverb on the chorus vocal for that arena sized spell
• Brass hits or bright synth stabs for trick reveals
• Trap or electronic percussion to make the chorus feel like an illusionary reveal

Dark witch arrangement

• Low synth textures and filtered bass
• Sparse percussion and unexpected silences
• Harmonic clusters and dissonance that resolve at the chorus
• Whispered doubles and rhythmic breaths

Language choices that avoid cliché

Magic is a loaded genre for clichés. We all know about potion, moon, and black cat. Use them only if you have a new angle. Replace vague fantasy words with specific sensory detail.

Before: The moon made me fall in love.

After: The moon left its lipstick on the subway railing and I read it like a map.

Before: I drank your potion.

After: I inhaled the tea you steeped in old tins and my reflection learned a new name.

Small tangible details like lipstick on a railing or tea in a tin make the wonder feel lived in rather than borrowed from a poster.

Dialogue and voice for narrators who do magic

Decide who is telling the story. Are they triumphant, ashamed, funny, or unreliable? The narrator voice determines word choice and rhythm.

• Triumphant narrator uses short punchy lines and active verbs. Great for stage magic songs.
• Shameful narrator uses soft vowels and confessional language. Great for dark witch songs.
• Sarcastic narrator uses snappy conversational lines and callbacks. Great when magic is a con or a stage trick.
• Unreliable narrator mixes details that do not add up. This can be an interesting creative choice. The listener wonders what is real.

Hooks and titles that feel like spells

A title is like a spell name. Short and evocative works best. Use sound friendly words and strong vowels. If you have an incantation in the chorus use part of it as the title.

Title ideas you can riff on

• Trick Jar
• Say the Name
• Matchstick Ritual
• Rue for Rent
• Light the Left Candle
• Small Miracle

Micro prompts to generate lines fast

Speed forces honest images. Try these five minute prompts.

• Object ritual: Pick an object in your room and write four lines where it performs a ritual act. Ten minutes.
• Rule and break: Write two lines stating a rule of your magic and two lines showing the rule being broken. Five minutes.
• Say the name: Write a chorus of three lines where the last word in each line is the name of the person or thing. Use repetition. Five minutes.
• Real life slip: Write a verse where magic interrupts a mundane errand like grocery shopping or a job interview. Ten minutes.

Before and after line edits

We will take bland magic lines and make them lived in.

Before: I cast a spell and you came back.

After: I left your letter under a basil leaf and you walked in with rain on your shoes.

Before: The candle fixed my heart.

After: I lit a thrift store candle and watched the flame sew my ribcage closed.

Before: I whispered your name and the stars answered.

After: I said your name into the empty espresso cup and three unwanted strangers told me secrets on the way home.

Common traps and how to avoid them

• Too many fantasy clichés. Fix by adding a mundane detail. If you mention a cauldron mention who bought the cauldron on sale at a thrift store.
• Vague magic that means nothing. Fix by giving a rule and a consequence. Rules make the magic useful for story.
• Lyric that does not sing. Fix with a prosody pass and vowel shaping. Move the stress so the important word sits on a strong beat.
• Over explain the world. Fix by letting implication carry weight. Show a single image and let listeners fill in the rest.

Production tricks to make the magic feel real

Small production choices can sell the concept.

• Reverse sounds for a sense of time bending. A reversed piano swell can feel like something unspooling.
• Filtered transitions to create a ritual sweep. Automate a low pass filter to slowly reveal the chorus.
• Layered whispers under the chorus to create a communal chant. Record multiple takes of a quiet whisper and pan them wide.
• Field recordings like matches, rain on a tin roof, or a kettle whistle to anchor domestic magic scenes.
• Vocal doubling with variation. Double the chorus but slightly detune one take to create shimmer. This feels like many small voices joining a spell.

Finish strong with an arrangement map

Use this map as a template. It keeps the magic coherent and gives you places to add small reveals.

Map: Candle Ritual

• Intro: single bell or match strike, low synth drone
• Verse 1: sparse guitar or piano, story detail, whisper double
• Pre chorus: add percussion and repeating motif that feels like a fingernail on glass
• Chorus: open harmonies, full drums, chant like repetition of the title
• Verse 2: keep energy but add an unexpected object detail
• Bridge: strip to voice and a single instrument then add reversed swell to show the spell unraveling or solidifying
• Final chorus: add extra vocal layers and a small lyric change that reveals consequence

Songwriting exercises to lock in the craft

Incantation chorus

Pick a 3 word phrase that could be an incantation. Repeat it with variations every four bars. The exercise teaches economy and rhythm. Example phrase: Bring me back. Bring me back. Bring me back with your wrong foot first.

Rule book verse

Write a verse that reads like a page in a spell book. State three rules each in one line. Make the rules specific and slightly annoying. Then write the pre chorus as the narrator deciding which rule to break.

The street trick scene

Write a short scene where a magician performs a trick and the result is something emotional not monetary. Use specific location details. Keep it under 200 words. Then turn one sentence into a chorus line.

Real life songwriting scenario

Imagine you are sitting on the 3 train at 9 AM. Your commute is a mess. Someone drops a matchbook that smells like incense on your lap. It has a name scribbled on it. You leave it on the bench because you are late and you think about the name all day. That is a seed for a song. The mundane commute plus the odd object equals domestic magic. Build from this single incident.

Verse idea: The subway hum lints like a low prayer. I fold your name into my palm and forget where to look. Chorus idea: Say the name three times on the downbeat and let bells bleed into the chorus. Make the chorus an incantation that claims temporary ownership of feeling.

Examples you can model

Theme: Love as accidental enchantment

Verse: You left your coat on the fire escape. I folded it like a map and learned a route through your mouth.

Pre chorus: I said your name to the first subway car like a dare. The conductor smiled and the lights blinked our secret code.

Chorus: Say my name three times. Watch the city bend. Say my name and learn to keep the light between your ribs.

Theme: A spell with a price

Verse: The woman at the market bartered me moonlight for a coin. I woke up with someone else on my tongue.

Pre chorus: I promised to never tell the number on her bracelet. She taught me how to boil grief into syrup.

Chorus: You took the part of me that said sorry and you carved it clean. Say your prayer and hand me back the keys.

How to finish a magic song quickly

1. Lock your emotional promise. Repeat it until you can say it in one breath.
2. Write the chorus as an incantation or a single strong declarative sentence. Keep it to one to three lines.
3. Draft two verses that add specific scenes and at least one object each.
4. Do a prosody pass. Speak every line and align stressed words with strong beats.
5. Make a simple demo with one instrument and vocal. Add a single field sound to sell the concept.
6. Play for three people and ask them what image stuck. Tweak only to improve that image.

Terms you should know

• Topline. That is the main vocal melody and lyrics. If someone says topline they mean the tune you sing over the chords.
• Prosody. This is how words naturally stress in speech. Prosody checks make sure your lyrics land on musical beats.
• Pedal tone. A repeated or sustained bass note. It can feel ritual like when it holds under changing chords.
• Modal mixture. Borrowing a chord from a parallel key to change color. For example taking a major chord into a minor section for contrast.

Pop culture directions for inspiration

Listen to songs that use magic as metaphor and notice how they balance weirdness with specificity. Examples to study include songs where spells are really just love or grief. Pay attention to production choices that create atmosphere and lyric lines that feel both strange and obvious. Steal techniques not phrases.

Songwriting FAQ

Can a magic song be upbeat and still feel real

Yes. Upbeat production can mask a darker lyric or make wonder feel playful. The key is anchor detail. If you sing about a glowing matchbook while the beat is bright the contrast creates intrigue. Keep an object or moment that grounds the listener so the song never drifts into empty fantasy.

How do I avoid sounding cheesy when writing about spells

Use one grounded detail per verse and a single clear rule. Avoid cliché words unless you subvert them. Short lines and conversational voice help maintain sincerity. If it sounds like a greeting card rewrite with sensory detail and a time crumb.

Should the chorus repeat the same phrase like a chant

Often yes. Repetition in the chorus feels ritual like and is sticky. You can repeat the phrase three times and change the final repeat to show consequence or growth. Repetition works well when the phrase is simple and has weight.

What instruments make magic songs feel authentic

Piano and acoustic guitar feel intimate. Synth pads and bells feel mystical. Field recordings and sound design create texture. Use a small palette and add one unexpected sound to sell the concept. For ritual themes use layered vocal pads to simulate many voices.

Can I use magic as a metaphor for therapy or recovery

Absolutely. Magic can show transformation in a poetic way. If you write therapy as a spell show the rules and the cost. That keeps the metaphor honest and the emotional stakes real.

How do I write a bridge that changes the spell

The bridge is perfect for rule changes. Make the bridge reveal either why the spell matters or how it failed. Sonically strip back and then reintroduce the chorus with a small lyric change that makes the outcome clear. That shift is your narrative payoff.

How literal should I be with magical elements

Be literal with objects and feelings and figurative with the cause and effect. The object grounds the scene. The cause and effect can be mysterious. Keep at least one line that allows the listener to interpret the magic either as real or metaphorical.

How do I write a song for witch or modern pagan audiences without being offensive

Respect cultural practices and avoid appropriation of sacred rituals. Use personal stories and invented rules rather than claiming expertise. If you reference actual traditions do your research and credit influences. Treat real world practices with care while you play in invented worlds.

What if I am not a storyteller can I still write a magic song

Yes. Use micro moments instead of long narratives. A single image repeated with variation can create a story like arc. Focus on sensations, objects, and a changed line in the final chorus. That builds a satisfying story without complex plotting.