Raised on George Jones and Tammy Wynette, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Emmylou Harris, she sang harmonies as a toddler, eventually thinking she'd make a career of it. Following the murder-suicide of her parents (perpetrated by her father) in 1986, she moved into her aunt and uncle's home.
Not long afterwards, sister Shelby Lynne moved to Nashville for a career in music, and after her high school graduation, Moorer followed. She sang harmonies with her sister for a while but returned to Alabama to earn a degree in public relations. She skipped the graduation ceremony to move back to Nashville.
Her song "A Soft Place to Fall" was tapped for Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer in 1998, and she also appeared in the movie. Because the ballad earned her an Academy Award nomination, she performed it on the 1999 Oscars ceremony. However, none of her singles from her debut "Alabama Song" or its follow-up "The Hardest Part" received much radio airplay, nor achieving chart success though both projects were highly praised by critics.
When Brown moved from MCA to sister label Universal South, Moorer followed. Her 2002 album "Miss Fortune" earned more raves, but didn't meet sales expectations. She almost got another big break by recording the duet "Picture" with Kid Rock after Sheryl Crow had bowed out. However, Crow changed her mind, and the Rock/Crow-version became a huge radio hit. Yet, the song was credited on the charts to both Crow and Moorer. In addition, the CD single featuring Moorer sold 500,000 copies and is certified Gold by the RIAA. Her ballad "Tumbling Down" (from Miss Fortune) was featured on the soundtrack of the popular 2002 film The Rookie.
Her live album album "Show"(2003) was recorded in one night (two performances) at the 12th and Porter in Nashville and despite popular belief, it features the first recorded collaboration by both Moorer sisters.
After releasing Show and a DVD on Universal South, Moorer moved to independent label Sugar Hill Records. With a slightly rougher edge than past efforts, The Duel was released in April 2004.
After a divorce between Moorer and Primm, she eventually married Steve Earle, after serving as his opening act on a European tour. Earle produced her 2006 album, "Getting Somewhere". Moorer wrote all the songs, with the exception of one co-written with Earle. She and Earle were nominated for a Grammy award in the category Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, for the song "Days Aren't Long Enough" from Earle's "Washington Square Serenade".
Moorer released the Buddy Miller-produced "Mockingbird" in February 2008; an album mainly of covers of songs by female singer/songwriters including her sister, Shelby Lynne.
Her latest studio album "Crows" (2010), features her first departure from the Contemporary Country style of her earlier albums, instead changing to a Pop and Contemporary Singer/Songwriter style.
http://allisonmoorer.com
Up This High
Allison Moorer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hopping from moon to moon
Higher than a kite's been before
Made my way to Mars
Venus and Neptune
If I was scared of heights
I ain't no more
Old cloud nine looks commonplace
Floating way down there in the blue
Up this high at heaven's door
Worlds collide and comets soar
Your love lets me fly up this high
A lot of astronauts have left the planet earth
But they use rocketships to kiss the sky
I don't have what they got
But I sail the universe
Everytime your lips are kissing mine
Up this high in outerspace
Old cloud nine looks commonplace
Floating way down there in the blue
Up this high at heaven's door
Worlds collide and comets soar
Your love lets me fly up this high
Back when I was green
You could find me chooglin' smoke
But when I got off I never left the ground
Now you can't find me
Unless you have a telescope
And I don't want to ever come back down
Up this high in outerspace
Old cloud nine looks commonplace
Floating way down there in the blue
Up this high at heaven's door
Worlds collide and comets soar
Your love lets me fly up this high
I'm high
on love in this song, quite literally. The singer, Allison Moorer, is describing how her love has taken her higher than she has ever been. She compares herself to an astronaut, hopping from moon to moon, and even making her way to Mars, Venus, and Neptune. Despite any fears she may have had about being up so high, her love has given her the confidence to soar.
The chorus repeats the idea that being up this high in outer space makes what used to be cloud nine seem small and ordinary. Moorer feels like she is at heaven's door, seeing worlds collide and comets soar, all because of the love she shares with her partner. She acknowledges that astronauts need rocketships to leave Earth, but she can experience the universe just by being with her loved one.
In the final verse, Moorer reflects on how she used to be a smoker, but now the only thing she is chooglin' is love. She doesn't want to come back down from her high, and her love has made her feel like she's reached new heights. Overall, this is a love song that uses space metaphors to illustrate the boundless possibilities of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm skipping across the stars
I'm effortlessly jumping from one star to the next.
Hopping from moon to moon
I'm easily hopping between the various moons.
Higher than a kite's been before
I'm so high up, kites could never reach my level.
Made my way to Mars, Venus and Neptune
I've traveled to multiple neighboring planets, such as Mars, Venus, and Neptune.
If I was scared of heights, I ain't no more
I used to be afraid of heights, but space has cured me of that fear.
Up this high in outerspace
Being in this high position in outer space.
Old cloud nine looks commonplace
The phrase 'cloud nine' is no longer special or excellent from my vantage point.
Floating way down there in the blue
Clouds appear as tiny blue specks when viewed from this high up.
Up this high at heaven's door
I'm so high that I'm at the edge of heaven.
Worlds collide and comets soar
I'm at a height where I can see planet collisions and comets flying past.
Your love lets me fly up this high
I'm experiencing this heightened sensation due to the love I feel for someone.
A lot of astronauts have left the planet earth
Many professional astronauts have left Earth.
But they use rocketships to kiss the sky
Their travel is achieved through rocket ships.
I don't have what they got
I'm not a professional astronaut and don't have their technology.
But I sail the universe
Instead, I navigate and explore space on my own.
Everytime your lips are kissing mine
Every time we kiss, it feels like we're floating through space.
Back when I was green
Referring to an earlier, less experienced time in life.
You could find me chooglin' smoke
Back then, I was a smoker.
But when I got off I never left the ground
But despite smoking, I was still grounded.
Now you can't find me
Nowadays, it's hard to locate me down on Earth.
Unless you have a telescope
It would take the aid of a telescope to locate me now.
And I don't want to ever come back down
I'm so content up here that I never want to return to Earth.
I'm high up in the stars
I'm located in the upper echelon of the stars.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALLISON MOORER, DOYLE PRIMM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind