“The High” is an honest song that comes from having lived through the reality. Josh Merritt’s childhood was scarred by his mother’s and stepfather’s methamphetamine addiction. Not only as users—they fell into manufacturing and distribution.
After several bleak years, Merritt and his brothers were taken away to be raised by their grandparents on a farm in the unincorporated community of Reynolds Station. So when Josh Merritt sings, “Hang the phone up on your closest of kin / Don’t give three damns if you see them again,” he knows what he’s talking about.