Allison Crowe (born 16 November 1981) is a singer-songwriter, producer, arr… Read Full Bio ↴Allison Crowe (born 16 November 1981) is a singer-songwriter, producer, arranger, pianist, guitarist and fiddler born in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada who's made her home in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada.

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.

Running
Allison Crowe Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Granted I've been a fool before
But I've never felt
So completely insane
I know I've been here before
But I never saw this
For what it really was and

I hope that I can get my point across

I hope that I don't lie dormant in the shadows now
I know that I am running as fast as I can
But I know that that's not very fast at all

I am trying so hard to be something
That I just end up being nothing at all
So watch me as I stumble now
Watch me smile as I hit the ground

Every time that I knew the truth
I would just pretend
That I wasn't hiding
I'd tell myself that it's alright
I know myself
I think that's all that matters and

I hope that I can get my point across
I hope that I don't lie dormant in the shadows now
I know that I am running as fast as I can
And I know that that's not very fast at all

I am trying so hard to be something
That I just end up being nothing at all
So watch me as I stumble now
Watch me smile as I hit the ground

I always expect this
I always see it coming
I love it when it's faltering
I love it when it's failing
I know that there is
Most likely something wrong with that
But it's a part of who I am

At least I think that it might be, anyway

I'm trying so hard to be something
That I just end up being nothing at all
So watch me as I stumble now
Watch me smile as I hit the ground

I'm trying so hard to be something
That I just end up being nothing at all
So watch me as I stumble now
Watch me smile as I hit the ground

As I hit the ground

Watch me smile as I hit the ground

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Allison Crowe's song "Running" deals with themes of self-doubt and the struggle to find one's identity. The opening lines of "Granted I've been a fool before, but I've never felt so completely insane" suggests a repeated sense of failure and frustration. The singer recognizes that they may have been in a similar situation before but failed to acknowledge it. The line "I am trying so hard to be something, that I just end up being nothing at all" encapsulates the heart of the struggles with self-identity that the singer is facing. Despite her best efforts, her attempts to be someone else always seem to fall flat, causing her to feel as if she is perpetually hitting the ground.

Throughout the song, the singer is desperately trying to be heard and understood. In the lines "I hope that I can get my point across, I hope that I don't lie dormant in the shadows now", she expresses a desire to be seen and heard, to no longer be invisible or misunderstood. Yet, the lines "Every time that I knew the truth, I would just pretend, that I wasn't hiding, I'd tell myself that it's alright" suggests that the singer has a tendency to hide her true thoughts and feelings, rather than confronting them head-on.

Overall, "Running" is a poignant and introspective song that speaks to the universal struggle of finding oneself and the difficulties that come with it.

RunningAllison Crowe Lyrics

Running
Allison Crowe Lyrics