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).
One of Us Cannot Be Wrong
Gregory Alan Isakov Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The room filled up with mosquitoes
They heard that my body was free
And I took the dust of a long sleepless night
And I put it in your little shoe
And I must confess that I tortured the dress
That you wore for the world to look through
And I showed my heart to the doctor
He said, 'you just have to quit'
Then he wrote himself a prescription
And your name was mentioned in it
Then he locked himself in a library shelf
With the details of our honeymoon
And I hear from the nurse that he's gotten much worse
And his practice is all in a ruin
I once knew a saint who had loved you
I studied all night in his school
He taught that the duty of lovers
Was to tarnish the golden rule
And just when I was sure that his teachings were pure
He drowned himself in the pool
His body is gone, but out here on the lawn
His spirit continues to drool
An Eskimo showed me a movie
He'd recently taken of you
The poor man could hardly stop shivering
His lips and his fingers were blue
I suppose that he froze when the wind took your clothes
And I guess he just never got warm
But you stand there so nice, in your blizzard of ice
Please let me come into your storm
The lyrics to Gregory Alan Isakov's song One of Us Cannot Be Wrong contain a sense of particular confusion and longing, stemming from the singer's complexity towards their romantic interest. The song mentions the use of a green candle to create a feeling of jealousy in their lover, yet the mention of mosquitoes and the reference to the body being free, could be a metaphor to suggest a self-imposed isolation from someone they deeply desire. The singer also admits to putting the dust of a sleepless night in their lover's shoe, and the way they blatantly "tortured" their lover's dress could be interpreted as a representation of the kind of free-spiritedness that their lover may have found attractive, but has now become a source of frustration.
The singer goes on to describe how they showed their heart to the doctor, possibly as an act of desperation in their search for help, but the prescription reflects a kind of heartbreak remedy where their lover's name is mentioned. The mention of the doctor locking himself in a library shelf with details of the honeymoon shows that this loveless situation is causing everyone close to them to suffer. The lyrics about the Eskimo showing the singer a movie he had recently taken of the lover, and how the poor man could hardly stop shivering, speaks to the idea that the singer has a deep desire to see and share their lover's life but is unable to do so. When the singer asks to come into their storm, it could be a plea to be allowed to share this tumultuous time, with the hope of perhaps finding solace together.
Line by Line Meaning
I lit a thin green candle to make you jealous of me
I hoped that by making myself appear more desirable, it would provoke feelings of jealousy in you
The room filled up with mosquitoes
The candle attracted a swarm of mosquitoes into the room
They heard that my body was free
The mosquitoes were attracted to my uncovered and exposed body
And I took the dust of a long sleepless night
And I put it in your little shoe
I collected the grime and dust from a night of insomnia and deliberately placed it inside your small shoe
And I must confess that I tortured the dress
That you wore for the world to look through
I admit to mistreating the dress that you wore, which was meant to be seen and admired by others
And I showed my heart to the doctor
He said, 'you just have to quit'
Then he wrote himself a prescription
And your name was mentioned in it
I shared my feelings with the doctor, who suggested that I needed to let go of you. He then prescribed himself a remedy, which included your name as a reference to our relationship
Then he locked himself in a library shelf
With the details of our honeymoon
And I hear from the nurse that he's gotten much worse
And his practice is all in a ruin
The doctor, after collecting information about our honeymoon, locked himself away in a library shelf and began to spiral out of control. The nurse has informed me that his mental state has worsened and his profession is now in shambles
I once knew a saint who had loved you
I studied all night in his school
He taught that the duty of lovers
Was to tarnish the golden rule
I knew a holy person who was in love with you, and I spent an entire night studying his teachings. According to him, lovers have a duty to break moral and ethical boundaries in their pursuit of love
And just when I was sure that his teachings were pure
He drowned himself in the pool
His body is gone, but out here on the lawn
His spirit continues to drool
When I thought that his teachings were infallible, the holy man committed suicide. Though his physical body is gone, his corrupted spirit lives on and continues to be fascinated by you
An Eskimo showed me a movie
He'd recently taken of you
The poor man could hardly stop shivering
His lips and his fingers were blue
An Inuit person showed me a film that he had recently taken of you. The man was visibly cold and seemed to be physically affected by the sight of you
I suppose that he froze when the wind took your clothes
And I guess he just never got warm
But you stand there so nice, in your blizzard of ice
Please let me come into your storm
I assume that the man was so stunned and entranced by the sight of you losing your clothing to the wind that he was unable to warm himself afterward. Nevertheless, I find you attractive even in your icy exterior and wish to be close to your wild and tempestuous nature
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Leonard Cohen
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mike Modelle
on Time Will Tell
A Kansas wheat farmer wonders and worries about the price he will get for his bushels as they pour into some commercial silo.