Allison Crowe began performing professionally in 1996, at age 15, doing regular sets in the coffee-houses and bars of Vancouver Island. She began touring internationally in 2001. The artist settled in Canada's Atlantic province of Newfoundland and Labrador at the end of 2005.
"I love singing for people," says Crowe. "It's a way to connect and share with others. Communication is crucial. Just being able to do what I do, to write and sing and perform, makes me feel not only alive, but incredibly lucky. Knowing at any moment everything could change, I don't take one second for granted."
Today, Crowe's reach is global. The audience for her music videos and song downloads numbers more millions each year.
"Allison Crowe has a voice to fall in love with," says UK music industry journal Record of the Day. "She is from Vancouver Island in Canada, descended from Scottish, Irish and Manx stock. She's exactly the sort of artist who can make serious headway on her own label and that's just what she's doing."
With Ani DiFranco as a model of integrity, Crowe created her own label. Since 2001, Rubenesque Records Ltd has released a series of critically and commercially successful albums: Lisa's Song, Secrets, Tidings, Live at Wood Hall, This Little Bird, Little Light, Spiral, Tidings Concert, Newfoundland Vinyl, Heavy Graces, Songbook, Souling, Newfoundland Vinyl II, Songbook, Souling, Newfoundland Vinyl 3, and Introducing / Heirs + Grievances.
Through recording and touring Allison Crowe has achieved broad popularity, featured by BBC Radio, MOJO magazine and acclaimed Hollywood director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch). In 2013, Allison Crowe appears in "Man of Steel" - an epic science fiction movie adventure featuring Superman. In this blockbuster film, Crowe cameos as a singer/musician in Cassidy's Bar where Clark Kent is working incognito. She performs "Ring of Fire", a song penned by June Carter and Merle Kilgore and made legendary by 'The Man in Black'. “I’m a big Johnny Cash fan. And I’m a big Allison Crowe fan. So the combination to me seemed like an awesome opportunity if we could make it happen,” explains MoS Director Zack Snyder.
"The first thing you notice about Allison Crowe is her voice. Rich and dark, it seems to come from a place most singers can only dream of accessing. Then there are the songs. Filled with raw passion and accompanied by Crowe's eloquent piano playing," writes Clodagh O'Connell (The Courier). Hers is a joyous sound: "Elton John meets Edith Piaf."
A sensation at the UK's John Lennon Northern Lights Festival, "Canadian angel Alison Crowe gave one of the weekend's most magical moments," says The Scotsman newspaper. Festival Director Mike Merritt describes Crowe as "awesome" and "spine-tingling", noting her performance "put hairs on the back of your neck! She brought the house down."
"Ever wonder what it would have been like to listen to a gifted singer/songwriter from Saskatchewan in a small, intimate hall before she became Joni Mitchell? Don't fret the missed opportunity. There's no need to turn back the clock. Check out Allison Crowe," says Robert Reid in The Record.
"Allison has a special gift that is so very rare in musicians today. She is true to her mind, heart and spirit," says Ross Hocker, long-time public broadcaster with NPR affiliate WGTE. Hocker, whose musical taste embraces Thelonious Monk, Bela Bartok and Charles Gounod, calls Allison Crowe's live performance "the most honest, heartfelt, and directly intimate concert in my entire life."
"In an entertainment world that increasingly genuflects at the altar of instant fame, Crowe seems an anomaly, building her career slowly and carefully," notes Adrian Chamberlain, of Canada's Times Colonist newspaper.
"Soulful. Alive. Joyous. Grievous. Real, true, music is what I want to make," says Allison Crowe.
Disease
Allison Crowe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The thoughts of all pain
Released from this anger
Is some place I would like to be
And when I feel myself defeated
I bleed
And when I see them twist around
Dancing in their own wake
And I don't want to exist on this plane
Crashing down to the level of
Depth of skin
Flesh and bone
All wrapped up in pages
Flashed in our faces
Laughing and spiteful
Run away
Lost again
Misdirected and folded
Drowned in bones
And thrown away
They told me to disappear
And slowly dive
Into the shallow end
Of the gene pool
Try to hold on to what I believe
Disappeared
No longer here as anything but
Wretched and disfigured
So I slash myself again
And I drown my hopes again
Lose myself in this disease
Lost again
Misdirected and folded
Drowned in bones
And thrown away
They told me to disappear
And slowly dive
Into the shallow end
Of the gene pool
Cut yourself to the mold
Nothing left to rid yourself of
But bile and blood
Torn skin screaming
And silenced as we
Replace marble with plastic
Lost again
Misdirected and folded
Drowned in bones
And thrown away
They told me to disappear
And slowly dive
Into the shallow end
Of the gene pool
The song "Disease" by Allison Crowe revolves around a theme of pain, anger, and frustration. The lyrics are a powerful reflection of the singer's inner turmoil and the challenges she is facing in her life. She firmly believes that there is a better place than the one she is in and longs to be released from the agony she feels. The lyrics also express her feelings of defeat when people twist things around and try to deceive her. She is filled with rage and doesn't want to exist in a world where people are laughing and showing spite towards one another.
The singer feels lost and misdirected, drowning in a sea of bones and thrown away by the people around her. She is burdened with the constant pressure to disappear and fit in with the shallow end of the gene pool. She tries to hold on to her beliefs but they become increasingly distant and unreachable as she is consumed by feelings of wretchedness and disfigurement. The song expresses the depths of despair that she feels as she slashes herself and drowns in the hopelessness of her disease. The final lines about replacing marble with plastic indicate the shallow, superficial standards that people are forced to meet in society.
Line by Line Meaning
Stepping on
Ignoring and neglecting the significance of
The thoughts of all pain
The feelings of the pain of others
Released from this anger
Free from the feeling of rage
Is some place I would like to be
A desired state of mind
And when I feel myself defeated
When I experience failure or loss
I bleed
Physical or emotional pain and suffering
And when I see them twist around
Observing others in agony
Dancing in their own wake
Suffering from the consequences of their actions
I rage
Overwhelmed with anger
And I don't want to exist on this plane
Apathetic towards life
Crashing down to the level of
Descending to
Depth of skin
Physical appearance
Flesh and bone
Physical form
All wrapped up in pages
Trapped in societal expectations
Flashed in our faces
Forced upon us by society
Laughing and spiteful
Mocking and filled with malice
Run away
Escaping from it all
Lost again
Facing failure once more
Misdirected and folded
Led astray and crumpled
Drowned in bones
Buried in past experiences
And thrown away
Discarded and forgotten
They told me to disappear
Forced to hide or vanish
And slowly dive
Gradually succumb to
Into the shallow end
Towards the less desirable aspects
Of the gene pool
Of the hereditary characteristics that make up a person
Try to hold on to what I believe
Fight to maintain my beliefs
Disappeared
Lost or erased
No longer here as anything but
Only remaining as
Wretched and disfigured
Miserable and deformed
So I slash myself again
Harming oneself as a coping mechanism
And I drown my hopes again
Losing faith in the future
Lose myself in this disease
Being consumed by negative emotions and experiences
Cut yourself to the mold
Conforming to societal norms
Nothing left to rid yourself of
Having nothing else to remove
But bile and blood
Only toxic and harmful substances remain
Torn skin screaming
Suffering from physical pain
And silenced as we
Muzzled and unable to speak out
Replace marble with plastic
Trading substance and value for superficiality
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jerome
Best Crowe Song hands down, and one of my favourite songs ...
This version is a bit too fast though. I like the slow version more.
beautifau
Yes Allison! and Yes Tori Amos!
Leah Chri
i dont know, but somehow this reminds me of tori amos..:)