About the song
A story for this song hasn’t been added yet.
Words from the artist’s archive
Midnight Architect lyrics
Artist-supplied lyric sheet, matched by title. The sheet may differ from this released performance. Production notes and alternate promotional cuts are omitted.
Read the lyric sheet
Intro
City lights bleeding through the blinds at 4 AM Building something they can't see yet
Verse 1
Laptop glow the only light inside my studio Working while my old friends posting pictures in Cancun Coffee cold, been sitting there since maybe afternoon Mama calling, tell her I'll be famous pretty soon They don't see the vision, think I'm wasting all my time But I'm stacking up these blueprints, every bar another line Used to count the coins for ramen, now I'm counting up designs Quarter million in the folder, every project signed and mine
Chorus
I'm the midnight architect, building while they sleep Every brick I laid alone, every floor concrete Watch the tower touch the sky from the basement where I lived I'm the midnight architect, built it brick by brick
Verse 2
Remember when the landlord put the notice on my door I was three months late but still recording on the floor Now that same apartment complex, guess who owns the fourth Bought it cash, no mortgage, let that sink in for a moment Teachers said I'd never make it past community college Now I'm lecturing at Stanford on accumulating profit Every "no" became a brick, every doubt became the mortar Built the walls so high my enemies need binoculars to spot us
Bridge
Sometimes I forget to eat for days Sacrifice don't always look like praise But the blueprint never lies to me What I build is what I'll leave behind, you'll see
Verse 3
Bought my mother that brick house she used to clean on weekends Now she's planting roses in a garden with no fences Little brother got a scholarship, I covered all expenses Changed the family tree forever, that's a generational sentence They can doubt the dreamer but they can't deny the building Standing forty stories tall above the city where I'm living Every window represents a night I spent committed I'm the midnight architect and this is my dominion
Chorus
I'm the midnight architect, building while they sleep Every brick I laid alone, every floor concrete Watch the tower touch the sky from the basement where I lived I'm the midnight architect, built it brick by brick
Bridge
Look at what these hands created All those years I was underrated Now they're knocking on the door I made Foundation solid, never gonna fade
Chorus
I'm the midnight architect, building while they sleep Every brick I laid alone, every floor concrete Watch the tower touch the sky from the basement where I lived I'm the midnight architect, built it brick by brick
Chorus
I'm the midnight architect, building while they sleep Every brick I laid alone, every floor concrete Watch the tower touch the sky from the basement where I lived I'm the midnight architect, built it brick by brick
Outro
Four in the morning, same place I started But the view's different now Architect. 🔁Loop "I'm the midnight architect, building while they sleep Every brick I laid alone, every floor concrete Watch the tower touch the sky from the basement where I lived I'm the midnight architect, built it brick by brick"
Inside the recording
City lights bleeding through the blinds at 4 AM Building something they can't see yet
I'm the midnight architect, building while they sleep Every brick I laid alone, every floor concrete
Four in the morning, same place I started But the view's different now
Excerpts from artist-supplied lyric files matched by title. Lyric sheets may differ from the released performance.