The Story and Meaning Behind “Strange Magic,” Jeff Lynne’s Attempt to Create a Bite-Sized Hit for ELO
“Strange Magic” is one of the Electric Light Orchestra’s most fascinating singles. In fact, if you had to come up with a slogan to characterize ELO’s music, that song title would do the trick.
What’s the song about? And how did it indicate a shift in the band’s strategy from previous records? Let’s go deep into “Strange Magic,” one of ELO’s most beautiful ballads.
Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne, members of the successful British band The Move, started ELO as a side project to combine classical and rock elements. Wood did not last long, and Lynne quickly established ELO as his primary musical outlet.
With each of their first three albums, the band’s sales in the UK improved. Their fourth album, Eldorado (1974), was the band’s artistic and financial breakthrough. Lynne and colleagues were able to compose a full-length album with repeating musical elements and literary topics. At the same time, the band’s smash single, “Can’t Get It Out of My Head,” landed them in the Top 10 in America.
Even though Eldorado was a hit, Lynne did not want to get mired down in another heavy idea for his next album. He wanted to make the goodies on ELO’s upcoming album more bite-sized. In other words, he wanted to develop a more pop-oriented record with songs that would sound great on the radio.
That album, Face the Music, was released in 1975, and Lynne and his band mostly achieved their goals. The first song from the album, “Evil Woman,” reached the Top 10 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. Because “Evil Woman” was more of an uptempo track, it seemed natural to follow it up with a lovely ballad, which turned out to be “Strange Magic.”
One fascinating aspect about “Strange Magic” is that Richard Tandy plays the melodic guitar line that opens the song and reappears at various points throughout. Tandy was usually a keyboardist. But when Lynne, the band’s typical lead guitarist, struggled to get the fingering perfect, Tandy stepped in and did the trick.
Musically, “Strange Magic” includes a variety of subtle delights. The violins continue to create intriguing countermelodies around Lynne’s vocal lines. Female background vocalists participate in a small call-and-response to give the song a soulful feel. Bev Bevan adds more aggressive drumming as the song proceeds to give it some substance.
What Is the Meaning of “Strange Magic”?
Jeff Lynne has always been a lyricist who prefers to conjure moods and feelings through imagery and wordplay rather than explaining them to the audience. That’s the case with “Strange Magic,” which has only three brief lyrics and paints a magical, gloomy picture.
He begins the song by addressing someone who appears to have heavenly abilities: “You’re sailing softly through the sun/In a broken stone age dawn/You fly so high.” In the second line, he reveals to this individual that they are having an affect on him: “You’re walking meadows in my mind, making waves across my time.” When he follows it with the exclamation, Oh, no, it’s the first sign that he may not be able to grasp her when she flies away.
The final line appears to prove this: Oh, I’m never going to be the same again / Now I know how it’s going to finish / Sweet dreams. Like the exotic creature in the song, “Strange Magic” performs its spell fast before floating away, another ELO treasure that leaves us wanting more.
