“High” by The Chainsmokers
From the onset, the implication that we’re faced with, at least from the vocalist’s perspective, is that he’s in a troubled romance. Or more specifically as Andrew puts it, the only time his significant other actually utters words of affection towards him is when she’s high. Meanwhile under normal, sober circumstances, this addressee is rather depicted as being more along the lines of , in terms of her relationship with the vocalist, a basic b*tch.
Purpose of “High”
Despite the above, the purpose of this song is not to lament being in love with a toxic partner per se. Rather, as described by Taggart in his own words, the intended point is to illustrate how in contemporary romances, we have a tendency to subject ourselves to such treatment in the name of love.
And that’s what the vocalist is getting at in the second verse, how he keeps entertaining the addressee despite her abusive ways. That said, it is not specified exactly what it is she does that has him so disturbed. But as stated, the only time she behaves affectionately is when homegirl is “halfway drunk”, early in the morning for instance.
And it is possible, considering that Taggart refers to the addressee as rockin’ “Air Force 1’s”, that he is speaking of a specific person, i.e. someone he knows in real life. But in any event, going back to Taggart’s personal explanation of this piece, what this all boils down to is the vocalist being smitten by someone who in his heart he knows he shouldn’t be chasing like that.
Or put differently, we human beings often conduct ourselves romantically against conventional wisdom and advice. And then by the time all is said and done, we may find ourselves committed to a partner based more on an ideological vision than the reality of the association.
When was “High” released?
It was released by Columbia Records and Disruptor Records on 28 January 2022. It actually marks the first original song The Chainsmokers have dropped since the singles associated with their 2019 album “World War Joy”.
The demo version of “High” unofficially made its way public in 2021. That version featured The Kid Laroi. However, his vocals were later completely excluded from the final product. Andrew Taggart rather held down lead vocalist responsibilities on this song. It is not exactly clear why.
At the time of its issuance, “High” was listed as a standalone single.
The first time The Chainsmokers performed “High” live was during the NFL’s NFC Championship Game of 2021-2022 season. That event was held on 30 January 2022 in Inglewood, California at SoFi Stadium.
Credits
This track was written by Chainsmokers’ members Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart. The pair composed it in partnership with the following:
- Jeff Halavacs
- Jacob Kasher
- Natalie Solomon
- Dark Waves
- Whethan
And The Chainsmokers, Whethan and Waves also produced the track.
The directors of the music video to “High” are Glenn Michael and Christo Anesti.
FYI
This song’s video proved to be successful, i.e. garnering a million views within a day of release. And as far as the song itself, as of this writing, it has appeared on a couple of Billboard charts.
