Glass Ceiling Records
I Was Magic — GCR Song Profile
Song Title: I Was Magic
Artist: Protyus
Release Context: A traditional Irish folk narrative that traces the slow erosion of a person’s light inside a jealous, extractive relationship. The melody and cadence echo old-world storytelling traditions, giving the piece the weight of a cautionary tale passed down through generations.
Core Themes: stolen brilliance, coercive admiration, emotional extraction, dimming, reclamation
Emotional Function: Helps listeners name the experience of being praised, used, and punished for the same qualities — the cycle where someone loves the shine but resents the source.
Survivor Literacy Lens:
- Signal: The moment admiration turns into entitlement, and the “sparkle” becomes a resource to be mined.
- System: The emotional economy where one person’s brightness is demanded, redirected, and consumed to prop up another’s fragile identity.
- Repair: Recognizing that the dimming was not a personal failure — it was the predictable outcome of an extractive dynamic.
Why It Resonates:
The story feels mythic because it mirrors a universal pattern: someone falls in love with a person’s magic, then tries to own it, control it, and take credit for it. Listeners who have lived through emotional overshadowing recognize the slow fade, the self-blame, and the moment the world goes dark.
For New Listeners:
This track highlights the “folk‑mythic truth‑telling” side of the catalog — songs that use fairy‑tale structure to reveal real emotional mechanics.
Best For:
- quiet reflection
- processing old relational wounds
- reclaiming one’s own light
GCR Notes:
The traditional Irish folk styling amplifies the parable-like quality of the narrative. The song functions as both a warning and a mirror, showing how easily magic becomes a burden when placed in the hands of someone who cannot bear their own dimness.
Lyrics
You told me I was magic
That you wanted to believe
In something outside of this frantic
World filled with deceit
You said you loved my sparkle
And that you wanted it for keeps
At first you seemed so proud
To show off your sparkling thing
You’d display me to the crowd
And bask in revelry
But soon I became too much
“Do you have to shine all the time?”
And I tried so hard to explain
That your light could shine next to mine
“Why should I have to shine?
What makes you so special?
I only seem dim because you’re so bright
How dare you set a new threshold?”
And each day from then forward
You made me tell you how big
Your radiant beams were reaching
it became a full-time gig
“Am I sparkling now? Can they see me?
Does everyone know that it’s me?
Did everyone come to tell me I’m great?
Do they see my big radiant beams?”
But you weren’t glowing, that light was mine
As you eclipsed my shimmer
“Shine brighter so they can see me!”
My spark began to grow dimmer
And I’d rally my strength and focus on my shine
I’d polish your face, and line-up the angles just right
And with the mirrors in place
No one even knew it was mine
“I need more! I’m LOSING THEM!!”
And I’d think of something new
And try to keep to the shadows
So the light would shine on you
And every once in a while
A spark I ignited would catch flame
And you would be enraged
Before I knew what it could have became
“How dare you try to outshine me?
How dare you keep some for yourself?
That time should have been spent on me
Because I’m the one with the wealth”
And I sewed you a jacket of glowsticks
And cracked them all, then I hid
And for the briefest moment felt relief and joy
Until the glow sticks faded
“I need you to make a replacement”
“But I haven’t got anything left”
“I’m sure you’ll figure out something”
And each time you continued your theft
“They’ve noticed that we’ve stopped shining.”
“I told you my magic was gone.”
“How dare you try to humiliate me?
Was that your plan all along?”
“I’m so sorry, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
I replied as I looked for my spark
But no matter where I looked
Everything had gone dark
Everything had gone dark
With nothing left of my heart
Everything had gone dark
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