Goin' Back to Hogwarts Lyrics - Very Potter, A

Song Overview

Personal Review

“Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” kicks the door open like a pep rally for nerds and theatre kids alike, and the lyrics make that rush feel inevitable. I hear a campus-born showtune that runs on inside jokes, quick character beats, and a chorus that wants you loud. My snapshot of the plot: Harry bolts from cramped Privet Drive to the only place that feels like home, dragging us along with a grin. The lyrics double as a map and a punchline, which is why the opener lands every time.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Message first: it’s a homecoming chant where home equals Hogwarts. The style blends brisk musical theatre with pop-friendly hooks. Verse one locks us under the stairs with the Dursleys, then pivots to velocity and sky the second Harry dreams of his Firebolt. That shift - boxed-in to airborne - is the song’s engine.

The emotional arc moves from cramp to camaraderie. Ron barges in on cue, Hermione squares their chaos with study rules, and the trio’s rhythm clicks: prank, plan, proceed. Your annotations map the beats cleanly - the lightning scar sting, Muggle lexicon, Floo Powder, OWLs, even the wizarding grading joke. The lyrics keep teaching, then laughing at the lesson.

Cultural touchpoints land fast. Cho’s gag skewers the way media collapses Asian identities; Cedric’s serenade parodies teen-idol gallantry; Draco’s “Pigfarts” turns into a community meme. The tone is affectionate parody - never mean, often meta.

Production and instrumentation: piano up front, rhythm section snapping the patter, guitars outlining the drive, ensemble stacked for that shoutable hook. It’s written like a modular opener - character entrances sliding into the same chorus until everyone’s in. The result is a party you can sing.

“Underneath these stairs I hear the sneers and feel the glares...”

Annotation pass: cupboard years, petty tyranny, the scar as a danger bell. It’s tidy exposition that earns the sprint to the refrain.

“I gotta get back to Hogwarts... Where everyone thinks I’m cool.”

Thesis line. In canon, fame weighs heavy. Here, the joke lets Harry enjoy it like a schoolyard bit, while the ensemble keeps him grounded.

“Domo arigato... Gung hay fat choy...”

Broad satire, pointed commentary. StarKid shows the problem by overdoing it on purpose, then lets the audience wrestle with the laugh.

Creation history

The show premiered at the University of Michigan in April 2009, hit the internet that summer, and the album arrived digitally on September 9, 2009 with later Bandcamp availability. The opener is sometimes listed as “Gotta Get Back to Hogwarts,” but “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” is the cast-album title.

Verse Highlights

Verse 1

Harry catalogs grievances in tight lines - stairs, Dursleys, Privet Drive, scar. Short phrases keep it buoyant, not brooding, like an “I want” song that smirks.

Chorus

The refrain - “I gotta get back to Hogwarts” - does triple duty: mission statement, singalong, and world list. Creatures, ghosts, feasts - postcards flick past as the melody sits in a friendly range so a full audience can roar it back.

Bridge and cameos

Ron’s chaos, Hermione’s standards, Draco’s preening - each gets a mini-fanfare that snaps right back into the hook. It’s musical sketch comedy with a unifying punchline.

Key Facts

• Featured: Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Bonnie Gruesen, Lauren Lopez, Dylan Saunders, Devin Lytle, Tyler Brunsman, Jim Povolo, and the ensemble.
• Producer: StarKid Productions.
• Composer: Darren Criss, A.J. Holmes.
• Release Date: September 9, 2009.
• Genre: Showtunes, parody, musical theatre.
• Instruments: piano, bass, drums, guitar; ensemble vocals.
• Label: StarKid Productions.
• Mood: high-spirited, comic, triumphant.
• Length: approximately 9:50 on the cast album.
• Track #: 1 on A Very Potter Musical.
• Language: English.
• Album: A Very Potter Musical cast recording.
• Music style: opener built on patter verses and a rally-chorus.
• Poetic meter: mixed - conversational patter with iambic bursts in the refrain.
• © Copyrights: © 2009 StarKid Productions.

Questions and Answers

Who wrote the music and lyrics for “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts”?

Darren Criss and A.J. Holmes share composition and lyric duties.

When was the cast recording released?

Digital release landed September 9, 2009, with later Bandcamp availability.

Is it ever titled “Gotta Get Back to Hogwarts”?

Yes. Some listings use that phrasing, while the album credits “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts.”

Has the number been performed outside the original run?

Regularly - it became a signature live closer and has circulated in tour setlists and reunion shows.

Where does it sit in the show’s story?

It opens the musical and returns as a reprise, framing the act like a welcome banner.

Awards and Chart Positions

Not issued as a standalone commercial single, “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” has no major chart entries of its own. Its impact is reputational - the viral spread of the show, a devoted fan circuit, and frequent live reprises that cemented it as Team StarKid’s calling-card opener.

How to Sing?

Range and placement: keep it speechy in the verses, then open the vowels on “Hogwarts” so the harmony stack blooms without strain. Breath plan: quick sips at line ends, especially before the four-beat “Back to witches and wizards...” list. Tempo sits brisk, so think buoyant consonants and clipped T’s to ride the patter. Ensemble note: baton-pass entrances must sit right on the groove - don’t rush the spoken asides or you’ll step on the downbeat.

Songs Exploring Themes of going back to school and friendship

“Seize the Day” - Newsies. A rallying cry with drumline bounce and block harmonies. Where “Goin’ Back to Hogwarts” uses jokes and school slang, “Seize the Day” runs on solidarity and grit. Both turn crowds into choirs through repeat lines and easy intervals, but the mood shifts from gleeful to resolute.

“We Go Together” - Grease. End-credit joyride. Nonsense rhymes glue the group, the groove stays bouncy, and everyone gets to shout. Stack it next to Team StarKid’s opener and the design is similar - simple hook, friendly range, big vowels - but this one feels like last-day-of-summer, not first-day-back.

“Defying Gravity” - Wicked. Different feel, shared idea: escape. Elphaba climbs through modulations to a high-wire payoff; Harry imagines flight with a Firebolt and his friends. One is solitary and soaring, the other communal and cheeky, yet both sell the sky as freedom.