I Built The Shadow

The Invisible Light project featuring Nate Cozzolino - Smoke Two Joints ( Radio edit )

I Built the Shadow

welcome to The End!
( of the beginning of the film )
we’re >very glad< to see you’ve come this far
yet, we think it’s rather strange, no matter how much time you spend 
upon the stage, you forget that you’re a star ( yes, you are! )

you stare out at the audience
a line dying on your lips 
as you forget you ever had a word to say
but never fear, you sleepy actor! you’ll have another chance
to rise and shine
or throw it all away

but when the music stops you DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
it’s times like this you >wish< you had a mind to lose…
stumbling through these..

crazy days of living in the Shadow
and they don’t they don’t phase me
when the lights have made me come undone
“get back up on the stage, boy!”

now the next scene has begun
another costume to put on
another stranger walking towards you from the wings
behind your back, a rolled up script
composed of all the same old shit
( everything but what you’d >really< like to say ) 

but when the curtain falls you DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
it’s times like this you >wish< you had a mind to lose…
stumbling through these..

crazy days of living in the Shadow
and they don’t praise me
when the lights have made me come undone
oh i understand that the moon pulls heavy
tugging on the tides to come and bring the levee down, down
and no one else can save me
that’s how it goes
i know that i build the Shadow

and i could quit whenever
i could quit today
find another stupid ( too bit ) half-assed part to play in A

but when the applause has died you DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
it’s times like this you >wish< you had a mind to lose…
stumbling through these..

crazy days of living in the Shadow
and they don’t they don’t praise me
once the lights have made me come undone
oh i understand that the moon pulls heavy
tugging on the tides to come and bring the levee down, down
and no one else can save me
that’s how it goes
we ALL BUILT the Shadow

I Built the Shadow - 2019

I want to live at the front of the house
where all the ins and outs become my world
I long to stand beneath a standard i can feel
to know that only love is real command

cuz soon we’ll be singing to the Spirits of the Stairway 
soon the 3rd Stage meets the rosy dawn
and in the new light of tomorrow we can build some better byways
something worth remembering when we’re gone
something worth remembering when we’re gone

I want to lie down by the side of the road
to put down this heavy load…for a while
until then I’ll just bind this broken heart wth silver string 
until it’s light enough to fly….again

cuz soon we’ll be swinging from the starlights
sowing seeds where none could ever fall
and in the new light of tomorrow we can feed a fearless future
a legacy of life beyond the walls
a legacy of life beyond the walls
a legacy of life beyond the walls

I want to live at the front of the house
where all the ins and outs become my world

Front of the House

In loving memory of Tim Davis <3

when you said
you’d draw my card
i never thought 
it’d come this far
or that you’d leave 
your torch behind 
to find some different 
fields to fly

oh try and push them out, we try and try and try
but these wings feel too forgotten and the price can’t be denied 
so we seek the same old Spot
the Underground so way up high
and dream away our lives 
as Upside Down Butterflies 

we played for time
we played by feel
arenas changed
wounds wouldn’t heal
and it brought you down 
when times revolved
when seasons fell
and ties dissolved 

and now war is being waged
within these city gates
the alliance you once fostered
a memory of distance days
but the ones you gathered nearest drink these Waters in your name
to commemorate your life 
you Upside Down Butterfly

> break<

but your legacy still shines 
amidst these gathering clouds of grey 
as your words still rise to greet us
and remind us why we stay
your sapling spreads its tender roots 
it’s gentle branches keep us dry 
all those you left behind 
your Upside Down Butterflies

Upside Down Butterfly

Dedicated the memory of Salvatore Cozzolino 1947-2000

Greener than you’d think
For a land so set alone
Ancient walls and silent streets
With a quiet heart I roam

Beyond the hearth a welcome fire
In this tavern by the sea
Volumes of lines that wait to tell the tale
Of this Island…of me….

An old stone arch, a visitor come
Exchange of hearts, a favor won
A lost judge of the sound
A forgotten fixer found

But right and left have been reversed 
When I depart I come to see
And I think it best to go back
To this Island….of me…

Well Papa was a sort of sailor
But he spun his sails from gold
Though he’s gone we sing together
Of the ocean deep and old

Where the North becomes the South
the symbols scream for us to see
As we embrace, the secret song
Song of the Island….of me.

Island of Me

There’s comfort in Nate Cozzolino’s raspy singing. Even as his subject matter is often dark, a warmth permeates his music, thanks in no small part to his supremely talented backing band, The Lost Arts. There’s quiet triumph in here, told in the form of subtle bass runs and drum fills, all moving in perfect unison to Cozzolino’s cozy chord progressions. With a sound of important news from far away told in the form of a song, Cozzolino has found his niche. – Dan Shay, Motif Magazine

Nate Cozzolino and the Lost Arts

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