Chrislyn Lawrence

Song Premiere: Mike McClure Looks to the Skies on 'Orion'

Red Dirt legend Mike McClure finds guidance in the constellations on the introspective "Orion," the latest release from his forthcoming album Looking Up, which chronicles the last five years of his life and represents a period of renewal for the singer-songwriter.

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"And we're all spinning so they say/ But I don't feel like I'm moving," McClure sings. "I get a little closer every day, yeah but closer's got me feeling farther/ Closer's got me feeling farther/ Closer only feels farther away."

McClure says the song was inspired by life on the road and the night sky.

"For a while when I was out touring and wandering, there was a period when every time I looked up into the night sky, I would see the Orion constellation," McClure tells Wide Open Country. "Instantly, it was the first thing I'd see. Anytime I looked up. I'm the type of person that will begin to wonder what it means, when things line up like that, synchronistically. At that time I was married, but alone. And in those moments, I didn't feel so alone. There was a connection to something greater, something more."

Listen to "Orion" below.

Mike McClure · Orion
The 10-track album Looking Up traces McClures journey to getting sober. But beyond that, it's a story of self-discovery and finding light at the end of darkness.
"I started the climb up and out of unhappiness a few years back, which resulted in the end of a long marriage. I looked inside and called into light things like jealousy and fear," McClure says in a press release. "I would pour booze or drugs on top of things that hurt me instead of admitting these things and getting to the root cause. It's been a hard couple of years, to say the least, but I feel as though I'm up and out of it. Now it's up to me to continue to do the work that will keep me in this space."

McClure launched his career in Stillwater, Oklahoma at The Farm, a two-story yellow house that was a haven for songwriting legends, such as Bob Childers, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Jimmy LaFave, Stoney LaRue and more.

McClure was a founding member of the band The Great Divide, whose song "I'd Rather Have Nothing," written by McClure, was recorded by Garth Brooks for his 2005 box set The Lost Sessions. As a producer, he's worked with Cross Canadian Ragweed, Turnpike Troubadours, Tom Skinner, Jason Boland & the Stragglers and more.

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