Gregory Alan Isakov (born in 1979 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a South… Read Full Bio ↴Gregory Alan Isakov (born in 1979 in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a South Africa-born American singer-songwriter. He released his first album, Rust Colored Stones, in 2003.

Isakov has been described by Boulder Weekly, "Strong, subtle, a lyrical genius" and has been compared to his influences; Bruce Springsteen, Kelly Joe Phelps, Iron & Wine and Gillian Welch. Isakov's humble presence and his overwhelming voice and guitar style has been treasured by an ever-growing and captivated fan base.

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Isakov immigrated to the States with his family and grew up in the Philadelphia area. He started touring at the age of 16 with his first band. In 1999 he sought out his solo acoustic roots and moved to Colorado where he now resides.

Isakov has been taking on the folk music scene with his 2003 release "Rust Colored Stones" LP and his 2005 release "Songs For October". Isakov's song-craft lends to the deepest lyrical masterpieces, and his live performance has been known to quiet and shake the biggest rooms.

Isakov has shared the stage with numerous touring artists such as Rodrigo y Gabriela, Alexi Murdoch, and Fiona Apple. He has performed throughout the United States, playing numerous music festivals such as Falcon Ridge Folk Fest, Rocky Mountain Folks Fest and Southpark Music Festival. Isakov has toured solo and with his band "The Freight".

In 2007, Gregory was named "Best Male Singer-Songwriter" by Westword Magazine.

Subsequent albums have included That Sea, The Gambler (2007), This Empty Northern Hemisphere (2009), The Weatherman (2013), Evening Machines (2018).

Evelyn
Gregory Alan Isakov Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

All the tables nice and clean
Evelyn's asleep
On the grave yard shift again
Selling gasoline

And there's kids smoking on south first
See high-school was just a blur, to her
And everything just found their place it seemed

There's an old folk song on the radio
Sounding thin and dark and haunted
There's a bag of weed in the back beneath the books

And she can't stand the sight of this cul de sac
Like an old crow, king of the lamp-post
And this window hasn't been this clean since it last rained

Well she pictures up a different day
Driving west to east l.a
And there ain't no sign of a dime, but hey
Anyone can dream...anyone can dream

And all the college girls come in when the bars let out and they're hungry
Making such a mess, evelyn just talks trash, as she's sweeping up

There's a thin dark cloud in the evening air
After every sunny day
There's a bum who lives in the parking lot
Wash the windows just to say hey

All the tables nice and clean
Evelyn's asleep

On the grave yard shift again
Selling gasoline

Overall Meaning

The song "Evelyn" by Gregory Alan Isakov paints a vivid picture of a small gas station on the graveyard shift. The singer, Evelyn, is working alone and tiredly selling gasoline to passing cars. As she surveys the scene, she notices kids smoking nearby, reminiscing about her own hazy high school days. The radio plays an old folk song that sounds eerie in the empty station, and there is a bag of weed hidden away beneath some books. The cul de sac where the station is located feels suffocating to Evelyn, who feels like an old crow perched on a lamp-post. But despite her listless surroundings, she has dreams of one day driving from west to east L.A. without a penny to her name.

The song's lyrics do not follow a traditional narrative structure, rather it presents snapshots of various elements of Evelyn's graveyard shift. The imagery is rich, painting a detailed picture of the gas station, from the clean tables to the thin dark cloud hanging in the evening air. The song portrays a sense of longing, with Evelyn dreaming of escaping her humdrum life for a chance to start anew in a different place. Overall, "Evelyn" is a poignant meditation on the restlessness and resignation that can come with the daily grind.

Line by Line Meaning

All the tables nice and clean
The tables are clean and well-maintained.

Evelyn's asleep
Evelyn is currently in a state of sleep.

On the grave yard shift again Selling gasoline
Evelyn is working the late shift at a gas station, selling fuel to customers.

And there's kids smoking on south first
There are young people smoking cigarettes on South First Street.

See high-school was just a blur, to her
Evelyn doesn't remember much about high school and sees it as a hazy memory.

And everything just found their place it seemed
Everything around Evelyn appears settled and in place.

There's an old folk song on the radio
An old folk song is currently playing on the radio.

Sounding thin and dark and haunted
The song on the radio has a melancholy, eerie sound to it.

There's a bag of weed in the back beneath the books
A bag of marijuana is hidden in the back of the store, underneath some books or other items.

And she can't stand the sight of this cul de sac
Evelyn dislikes the view of the cul de sac outside the gas station.

Like an old crow, king of the lamp-post
Evelyn sees herself as similar to a dominant, territorial crow sitting atop a lamp-post.

And this window hasn't been this clean since it last rained
The shop window is currently very clean, perhaps due to rain that occurred recently.

Well she pictures up a different day Driving west to east l.a And there ain't no sign of a dime, but hey Anyone can dream...anyone can dream
Evelyn imagines a different future for herself, where she is driving from west to east LA, despite not currently having much money. She acknowledges that anyone can dream of a better future.

And all the college girls come in when the bars let out and they're hungry
After bars close, college-aged women come to the gas station, looking for food.

Making such a mess, evelyn just talks trash, as she's sweeping up
The college girls make a mess and Evelyn complains about them while sweeping the floor.

There's a thin dark cloud in the evening air After every sunny day
There is a dark, thin cloud present in the air during the evening, following a day of sunshine.

There's a bum who lives in the parking lot Wash the windows just to say hey
A homeless person lives in the gas station parking lot and washes the windows as a means of greeting Evelyn.

All the tables nice and clean
Once again, the tables in the gas station are clean and well-maintained.

Evelyn's asleep On the grave yard shift again Selling gasoline
Evelyn is still working the night shift at the gas station, selling fuel to customers despite being tired.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: GREGORY ALAN ISAKOV

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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