Songs About Shapeshifting

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There are countless stories and songs from folklore about people who could change their shape, and monsters who could make themselves appear human. From gods transforming people into other animals and trees to monsters like werewolves and skinwalkers, something about the idea seems to really capture people's imaginations. If the topic intrigues you as it does me, please enjoy this select few modern songs about shapeshifters:


1. Ballad of the Shapeshifting Pilgrim Boy- The Aquabats



"You can shift shape into lion
And you can shift shape into fire
And your big heart
Just grows larger and larger and larger"

'Ballad of the Shapeshifting Pilgrim Boy' is a silly modern folk song by California rock/ska band the Aquabats (one of the bands interviewed in the documentary Pick It Up! Ska in the 90s ). It's the kind of oddity the Aquabats sing about a lot.


2. Animals - Miike Snow



"I change shapes just to hide in this place
But I'm still, I'm still an animal
Nobody knows it but me when I slip
Yeah, I slip, I'm still an animal"

This song, is a favourite of mine, and was the inspiration for this little project. I like the catchy melody and find the lyrics oddly relatable. As a bonus, it is my headcanon that the figure who runs out and blinds with the band towards the end of the video is Tessa Violet from the video of her song 'Haze'.



Miike Snow is a Swedish indie pop band. and don't contain an actual person named Miike, or even Mike. Their single 'Animal' comes from their eponymous first album, and a remix of it was used as the theme song for the British TV series Friday Night Dinner.


3. Shapeshifting While I Feast on the Scum - Skidmark Twain



"It's really hard to smile with werewolf teeth
Don't mind me while I mark my territory
I just bit my tongue
Shapeshifting while I feast on the scum"

A song about a werewolf by Skidmark Twain, who hails from Tuscon, Arizona. You can find them on Bandcamp .

4. Ghuleh - Ghost



"Up from the stinking dirt, she rises
Ghastly pale
Shapeshifting soon, but now she's rigid
Stiff and stale"

This song starts out a lot more chill and relaxed sounding than you would expect from the lyrics. It's performed by the quirky, theatrical Swedish rock band, Ghost, and is from their second studio album 'Infestissumam'.


5. The Kingdom of the Werelions - J.N. Macawell



"This is the kingdom of the werelions.
And baby, you're through.
There is no hope here.
Only shapeshifting and dread here."

This song is by J.N. Macawell, from his or her album 'Lament of a Rapper Part 1'. I couldn't find anything much about them, other than that they have produced a lot of music like this about supernatural creatures.


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More articles by Jennifer Muirhead:
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5 Musicians Born in November
10 Musicians Born in December
Songs About Sharks
Songs About Online Dating
Songs About Things That Resemble Horses But Are Not Horses
10 People Who Are Not Dave Grohl