Beam was raised outside Columbia, South Carolina, United States where his father worked in land management and his mother was a schoolteacher. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a bachelor's degree and the Florida State University Film School with an MFA degree. Until the first Iron & Wine album, Beam's main source of income was as a professor of film and cinematography at the University of Miami and Miami International University of Art & Design. He had been writing songs for over seven years before a friend lent him a four-track recorder. His friends handed out copies of demos that he had made, and the owner of Sub Pop Records personally contacted Beam and proposed a deal.
Beam released his first album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, on the Sub Pop label in 2002; Beam wrote, performed, recorded, and produced every track on the album by himself at a studio in his home. The album features acoustic guitars, banjo, and slide guitar; its music has been compared, variously, to that of Nick Drake, Simon and Garfunkel, Neil Young, Elliott Smith, and Ralph Stanley.
In 2003 The Sea & The Rhythm was released, an EP collecting other home-recorded tracks along the same lines as those on the debut. Beam's second album, Our Endless Numbered Days (2004), was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. The focus still lies on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gives rise to a very different sound.
Beam released an EP titled Woman King in February 2005, and the EP In the Reins, a collaboration with Calexico was released in September 2005. This joint work mostly features new full-band versions of previously recorded Iron and Wine rarities.
One of his most famous songs is a cover, which was featured on a commercial for M&M’s candies and in the 2004 film “Garden State” (and on its popular soundtrack), of "Such Great Heights" by The Postal Service.
"Kiss Each Other Clean" is the fourth studio album by Iron & Wine, released January 25, 2011. The album's title is taken from the lyrics of track 10, "Your Fake Name Is Good Enough for Me". The album marks a further change in style – in an interview with SPIN magazine, Beam said “It’s more of a focused pop record. It sounds like the music people heard in their parent’s car growing up… that early-to-mid-’70s FM, radio-friendly music."
http://www.ironandwine.com/
11. Flightless Bird American Mouth
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All of your street light eyes wide on my plastic toys
Then when the cops closed the fair, I cut my long baby hair
Stole me a dog-eared map and called for you everywhere
Have I found you
Flightless bird, jealous, weeping or lost you, American mouth
Big pill looming
Now I'm a fat house cat
Nursing my sore blunt tongue
Watching the warm poison rats curl through the wide fence cracks
Pissing on magazine photos
Those fishing lures thrown in the cold
And clean blood of Christ mountain stream
Have I found you
Flightless bird, grounded, bleeding or lost you, American mouth
Big pill stuck going down
The song “11. Flightless Bird American Mouth” by Iron & Wine is a hauntingly beautiful track about a lost love. The lyrics begin with the singer reminiscing about his youth, “I was a quick-wit boy, diving too deep for coins. All of your street light eyes wide on my plastic toys.” He recalls times spent with someone who was enamored with him and his youthful antics. However, as time went on, things changed, and the fairgrounds they once frequented were closed by the police. The singer reacted to this change by cutting his long hair and stealing a map, trying to find his lost love.
The chorus contains the most striking lines and repeated throughout the song, “Have I found you, flightless bird, jealous, weeping, or lost you, American mouth. Big pill looming.” The singer muses about finding his lost love and the different emotional states they could be in. He refers to them as a “flightless bird,” which could be interpreted in many ways, but it's likely because they are stuck in one place and cannot move on from their feelings. The phrase “big pill looming” may allude to the difficulty or heaviness of the situation they're in, possibly suggesting a pill that's hard to swallow. The final verse finds the singer in a different state, “Now I’m a fat house cat, nursing my sore blunt tongue. Watching the warm poison rats curl through the wide fence cracks.” He's become jaded, and no longer chasing his dreams, instead content to sit back and observe the world around him.
Line by Line Meaning
I was a quick-wit boy, diving too deep for coins
I used to be impulsive and adventurous, often risking too much for little reward.
All of your street light eyes wide on my plastic toys
You used to be fascinated by my simple joys, captivated by my innocence.
Then when the cops closed the fair, I cut my long baby hair
When the fun ended and reality set in, I had to leave behind my childish ways and grow up.
Stole me a dog-eared map and called for you everywhere
I went on a journey to find you, using whatever resources I could, but I couldn't do it alone.
Have I found you
Flightless bird, jealous, weeping or lost you, American mouth
Big pill looming
Have I finally found you, my vulnerable and uncertain love? Are you struggling with jealousy or sadness, or have I lost you completely? The future feels daunting and uncertain.
Now I'm a fat house cat
Nursing my sore blunt tongue
Watching the warm poison rats curl through the wide fence cracks
Pissing on magazine photos
Those fishing lures thrown in the cold
And clean blood of Christ mountain stream
Now I'm lazy and idle, struggling to express myself, watching the world around me deteriorate but feeling powerless to stop it. I'm indulging in destructive habits and casting aside things of beauty and value, damning myself to a dark world.
Have I found you
Flightless bird, grounded, bleeding or lost you, American mouth
Big pill stuck going down
Once again I wonder - have I found you, my broken and hurting love? Are you now feeling grounded or wounded, or have you disappeared again? The future feels hopeless and suffocating.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SalTheFisherman
"Good night wrong number"
"Good night old man"
"Hey! I'm not-"
"Old yet, I know"
-
"My heart can't be in 2020 when I'm in 1970"
"Take care of those flowers George"
@lazanietta
I was a quick, wet boy
Diving too deep for coins
All of your street light eyes
Wide on my plastic toys
Then when the cops closed the fair
I cut my long, baby hair
Stole me a dog-eared map
And called for you everywhere
Have I found you?
Flightless bird, jealous, weeping
Or lost you, American mouth
Big pill looming
Now I'm a fat house cat
Nursing my sore, blunt tongue
Watching the warm, poisoned rats
Curl through the wide fence cracks
Pissing on magazine photos
Those fishing lures
Thrown in the cold and clean
Blood of Christ mountain stream
Have I found you?
Flightless bird, grounded, bleeding
Or lost you, American mouth
Big pill stuck going down
@timothyjoseph3867
People say Twilight isn't good, but for me it's the nostalgia attached to it, and the music that makes it so memorable.
@canderamirez4823
I’m late but you’re so right ❤️
@lilyparham4814
yup yup yup
@lilyparham4814
@@canderamirez4823 me too, very much, but still very relatable
@marinasplanet255
Agreed. I rewatch the movies, and I can see why people find it cliche and cringey but the nostalgia makes it amazing.
@BellaKnowssBestt929
Your so right, I watched the whole twilight series about 4 to 5 years ago then never watched it again until about 2 months ago and that nostalgia hit me like a heavy rock to the back of the head
@Canvas20012
"No measure of time with you will be long enough, but let's start with forever."
@joy-iw3mh
MY HEART-
@madisonfishkin8820
NO NO NO IM GONNA CRY
@ninaole5688
Those words ring so beautifully