About the song
My Shadow
What if the person I've spent my life trying to improve - create the "best version of myself" in modernist terms, is the very person I need to let go of?
My Shadow was written in the fall of 2020 and recorded in 2021 as I was grappling with these ideas. My thinking today - true self isn't simply discovered by looking more deeply into ourselves. It is discovered in relationship with God who created us, knows us intimately and gives us purpose.
Perhaps becoming who we were meant to be is less about creating a better version of ourselves and more about letting go of the person we've constructed and discovering the person God intended us to become.
Instrumentation
Driven electric guitars, Phil Keaggy's eBow textures, steady rock rhythm section, and layered harmony vocals.
Lyrics
My Shadow
My shadow, my shadow, always looking over me My shadow, my shadow, tells me who I'm supposed to be Plays the fool, plays the clown, always standing upside down Ask him what he wants from me, ask him who he wants to be... he answers "anyone but me" My shadow, my shadow, no My shadow, my shadow, no My shadow, my shadow, the ever changing shape of me My shadow, my shadow, even in the dark he sees Always looks to compare me, trades in unrealities He's rising up, he's running around, shouting "someone notice me" Who am I supposed to be? My shadow, my shadow, no My shadow, my shadow, no Light it up, chase it down, nail my shadow to the ground Light it up, chase it down Light it up, chase it down, nail my shadow to the ground Light it up, chase it down, down, oh Light it up, chase it down, nail my shadow to the ground Light it up, chase it down. light it up My shadow, my shadow, no more hiding that's the deal My shadow, my shadow, there's no joy in what's not real
Words & music: © James Michael Scaparotti, 2020
Ideal for sync licensing
Available for film, TV, advertising, and content licensing. Suggested placements:
One-Stop | 100% Master + Publishing
- Character-driven drama about identity and transformation
- Dark-but-hopeful trailer and promo placements
- Documentary segments about authenticity and mental health
- Thriller or suspense montage with emotional resolution
- Fitness and transformation content
BPM
70
Genre
- Rock
- Singer-songwriter
- Alternative
Mood
- Dark
- Introspective
- Driving
- Cathartic
- Honest
Themes
- The constructed self and the true self
- Letting go of who you pretended to be
- Becoming who you were meant to be
- Honesty over hiding