Lyric discussion by rmfnord 

Cover art for High Lonesome lyrics by Gaslight Anthem, The

Surprised no one's mentioned, "crowd shuffled in" is a straight reference to Billy Joel's Piano Man, "It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday / and the regular crowd shuffles in." So she's working in the most depressing bar in the world.

Song Comparison

I can't believe I missed that one! As much as I listen to Billy Joel I should have caught it. But if it is a reference to PIano Man then that is totally adding to my point about them trying to make it big in music. The song Piano Man is suppose to be about Joel before he made it big, and how he was too talented to be stuck in a bar "they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar, and say man what are you doing here?"