If you were anywhere near a radio in the summer of 1999, you know the hook. It starts with that shimmering, chorused guitar riff—bright, clean, and undeniably optimistic. Then comes the soaring falsetto: “She’s so high... high above me.” It was the kind of song that felt like a sunbeam. Honestly, it still does.
But Tal Bachman She’s So High is more than just a piece of late-90s nostalgia. It’s a masterclass in power pop, a song that somehow managed to reference Greek mythology and Joan of Arc without sounding like a history lecture. For a minute there, Tal Bachman was the biggest thing in music, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. Of course, "nowhere" was actually the shadow of rock royalty, and the story of how that song came to be is way weirder than just a guy liking a girl.
The High School Bribe That Started It All
Most people assume "She’s So High" is a straightforward love letter to a supermodel or a celebrity crush. It’s not. It’s actually born out of a deeply awkward high school moment.
Tal Bachman wasn't writing about his own girlfriend. He was actually trying to play wingman for his stepbrother. In an interview with MTV News back when the song was peaking, Tal admitted he was basically trying to bribe the "hottest girl in school" to go out on a date with his brother.
As he sat there talking to her, he realized he was completely out of his league. Not just because of her looks, but because of the sheer "godly, exalted" vibe she projected. He felt like a mortal talking to a deity. That specific feeling of being "below" someone—socially, aesthetically, maybe even spiritually—is what fueled the lyrics. When he sings “I know where I belong / And nothing’s going to happen,” he isn't being self-deprecating for fun. He's recalling the genuine, crushing realization that some people just exist on a different plane.
Stepping Out of the Bachman Shadow
It’s impossible to talk about Tal without mentioning his dad, Randy Bachman. If that name sounds familiar, it should. Randy was the force behind The Guess Who and Bachman-Turner Overdrive (BTO). We’re talking about the guy who wrote "Takin' Care of Business" and "American Woman."
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Growing up in that house was like living in a rock and roll conservatory. Tal once compared it to The Truman Show. Everything was music. He started on drums at age two. He didn’t even touch a guitar until he was fifteen.
Despite the pedigree, Tal didn’t want to be a "nepo baby" before that was even a term. He actually tried to rebel by going to university to study political philosophy. He was at Utah State, balls deep in Plato and Aristotle, when he realized he was miserable. He read a passage in Plato’s Republic about how a person should follow the path nature intended. For Tal, that path was clearly paved with Marshall stacks and catchy choruses. He quit school, moved back to Canada, and started writing.
The Sheryl Crow Connection
Kinda wild fact: "She’s So High" owes its existence to a trip to the mall. Tal was walking through a shopping center when he heard Sheryl Crow’s "If It Makes You Happy" blasting over the speakers. He loved the way the chords resonated in the large, echoey space.
He went home, messed around with those same chords, changed the key, and suddenly the melody for the chorus just fell out of the sky. He wanted that same "impactful" feeling he heard in the mall. He added the falsetto leaps—inspired by the Beach Boys and The Beatles—to make the word "high" literally feel high.
The Production Magic of Bob Rock
The song sounds so polished because it was produced by Bob Rock. If you know your 90s rock history, Bob Rock is the guy who made Metallica’s "Black Album" sound like a million bucks. He took Tal to Maui to record the debut album.
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They used Randy Bachman’s 1962 Stratocaster and a 12-string electric to get 그 shimmering, layered sound. It wasn't just a simple pop recording; it was a high-budget, meticulously crafted piece of audio engineering. That’s why it stood out on the radio next to the more stripped-down "post-grunge" stuff that was still hanging around in '99.
Mythology in Pop Lyrics
The bridge of the song is where it gets truly interesting. Tal name-drops:
- Cleopatra (The legendary Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt)
- Joan of Arc (The French heroine and saint)
- Aphrodite (The Greek goddess of love)
He got the idea for these historical and mythological references from the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). Specifically the song "Can’t Get It Out of My Head," which mentions Robin Hood and William Tell. It gave the song a timeless, slightly surreal quality that separated it from the usual "I like you, do you like me?" pop drivel of the era.
Why It Was a "One-Hit Wonder" (On Purpose?)
"She’s So High" was a monster. It hit No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Top 40. It won a BMI Song of the Year award in 2000. It won Junos (the Canadian Grammys) for Best New Solo Artist and Best Songwriter.
But Tal didn't follow it up with another massive smash. Interestingly, he didn't even think "She’s So High" was the best song on the album. He and the record label thought a power ballad called "If You Sleep" was going to be the "big" hit. "She’s So High" was just supposed to be the "setup track" to get people’s attention.
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Music history is full of these accidents. The "setup track" becomes the career-defining anthem, and the intended follow-up gets lost in the noise. Tal has always been pretty chill about the "one-hit wonder" label, though. He’s noted that whether you have one hit or ten, you’re always under pressure to do more. He got to experience the peak of pop stardom—touring with Bryan Adams and Barenaked Ladies, appearing on Jay Leno—and then he just... moved on.
Where is Tal Bachman Now?
He didn't disappear. He just changed lanes.
After his second album, Staring Down the Sun, didn't set the world on fire in 2004, Tal stepped back from the solo spotlight. He became a bit of a polymath. He’s written political articles for various publications and spent years as a competitive rugby player in British Columbia.
Perhaps most significantly, he went through a major spiritual shift. A former member of the LDS Church, Tal became a vocal critic of the religion after years of research into its origins. He even appeared in the Bill Maher documentary Religulous to talk about it. It’s a far cry from the "godly woman" he sang about in 1999, but it shows a guy who values intellectual honesty over fitting into a mold.
As of 2026, he’s actually back in the family business. He officially joined Bachman-Turner Overdrive with his father. He spends his nights playing those classic rock anthems to packed houses. He even does a "snippet" of "She’s So High" during the set—partly because his dad insists on it.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Listener
If you’re revisiting this track or discovering it for the first time, here is how to appreciate it like a pro:
- Listen for the 12-string: The jangle in the background isn't a synth; it's a real 12-string guitar, which gives it that 60s "Byrds" feel updated for the 90s.
- Check out the "If You Sleep" demo: To understand why the label was so confused, go back and listen to the song they thought would be the hit. It's a great look into how music industry executives think.
- The Cover Version: If you think the song sounds slightly different, you might be thinking of the 2003 cover by Kurt Nilsen (the guy who won World Idol). It was a massive hit in Europe, often eclipsing Tal’s original in places like Norway.
- Watch the Video: It features Yvonne Sciò as a weird, balloon-stealing angel/pilot. It makes almost zero sense, which is exactly why it’s a perfect time capsule of 1999 MTV aesthetics.
Tal Bachman might be "one-hit" in the eyes of the Billboard charts, but "She’s So High" remains a perfect pop artifact. It’s a song about the distance between who we are and who we want to be with—a gap that, luckily for us, can be bridged by a really good chorus.