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&Mโs candies and in the 2004 film โGarden Stateโ (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 โ in an interview with SPIN magazine, Beam said โItโs more of a focused pop record. It sounds like the music people heard in their parentโs car growing upโฆ that early-to-mid-โ70s FM, radio-friendly music."
http://www.ironandwine.com/
Claim Your Ghost
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We wake up with love hanging on
Killers let go, killers let go
Some kids get handful of rain
Our hope is the desperate die wise
Killers let go, killers let go
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
The garden grows into our street
We're holding the blossoms up high
Killers let go, killers let go
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
There's light holding onto the ground
Our music is clumsy and free
Killers let go, killers let go
Killers let go, our killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go
The first few lines of Iron & Wine's "Claim Your Ghost" speak to the weariness and exhaustion of life, with the metaphor of winter constantly "running us down." Despite this overwhelming feeling, the singer reminds us that there is love present in their life, even as they "wake up" to face another day of struggle. These small acts of kindness and tenderness provide a counterpoint to the chorus, which repeats the line "killers let go," suggesting that there are negative forces at work that need to be released.
The second verse introduces the idea of children who are struggling (getting only a "handful of rain"), perhaps to convey the idea that we all have challenges to overcome. The phrase "desperate die wise" could be seen as a reminder to make the most of the time we have left on this earth. The image of morning falling from a tree and asking for a name is particularly striking, evoking the passage of time and the ways in which the natural world can be both beautiful and enigmatic. The refrain "claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is" may encourage us to fully embrace our experiences and face things head-on, rather than shying away from them.
The image of a garden growing into a street creates a sense of beauty and abundance, as the singer holds "blossoms up high." Whatever "killers" are present in their life, there is still a sense of hope and joy. The final lines repeat the phrase "killers let go" again and again, perhaps as a reminder to keep releasing negative thoughts and emotions.
Overall, "Claim Your Ghost" invites us to reflect on the difficult but meaningful aspects of life, while also finding moments of tenderness, joy, and beauty.
Line by Line Meaning
Our winter keeps running us down
We feel burdened by the difficulties of life, which seem to keep coming and tire us out.
We wake up with love hanging on
Despite our weariness, we wake up every day with hope and love still present in our lives.
Killers let go, killers let go
We need to let go of the negative forces and influences in our lives, symbolized here by 'killers'. We repeat this phrase to emphasize the importance of this idea.
Some kids get handful of rain
Some people seem to have an easier time than others, represented here by the image of children enjoying the simple pleasure of rain.
Our hope is the desperate die wise
Our greatest hope is that even in difficult circumstances, people are able to find wisdom and understanding.
Morning falls from a tree and asks for a name
This surreal image suggests the beauty and mystery of the natural world. Even something as mundane as morning can evoke a sense of wonder and awe.
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
Here the idea of 'ghosts' may represent the memories or traumas that haunt us. The phrase 'know the wine for what it is' implies that we need to acknowledge and accept things as they are, rather than trying to escape or deny them.
The garden grows into our street
Nature has a way of asserting itself even in urban environments, and we should appreciate and nurture this connection.
We're holding the blossoms up high
Despite the difficulties of life, we still find beauty and joy in the world, represented here by the image of holding flowers.
There's light holding onto the ground
This mysterious statement suggests that there is resilience and hope even in difficult times, if we are willing to look for it.
Our music is clumsy and free
Our expression and creativity may not always be perfect or polished, but it is still valuable and meaningful.
Our killers let go, killers let go
We repeat this phrase as a reminder that we need to let go of the negative forces in our lives in order to heal and move forward.
Our killers let go, killers let go
We repeat this phrase as a reminder that we need to let go of the negative forces in our lives in order to heal and move forward.
Our killers let go, killers let go
We repeat this phrase as a reminder that we need to let go of the negative forces in our lives in order to heal and move forward.
Lyrics ยฉ Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@samruddhi1994
Our winter keeps running us down
We wake up with love hanging on
Killers let go, killers let go
Some kids get handful of rain
Our hope is the desperate die wise
Killers let go, killers let go
Morning falls from a tree and asks for a name
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
The garden grows into our street
We're holding the blossoms up high
Killers let go, killers let go
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
There's light holding onto the ground
Our music is clumsy and free
Killers let go, killers let go
Killers let go, our killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go
@rea3560
this is the first song i ever danced to with the love of my life, and it will be the first song we dance to at our wedding. so beautiful
@samruddhi1994
Our winter keeps running us down
We wake up with love hanging on
Killers let go, killers let go
Some kids get handful of rain
Our hope is the desperate die wise
Killers let go, killers let go
Morning falls from a tree and asks for a name
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
The garden grows into our street
We're holding the blossoms up high
Killers let go, killers let go
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
There's light holding onto the ground
Our music is clumsy and free
Killers let go, killers let go
Killers let go, our killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go
@ayalargou5877
I know why youngjae likes this song : put on your earphones and listen to it while lying down and closing your eyes......I ALMOST FELL ASLEEP๐๐
@jamesbugaiski3081
People here like wow thanks youngjae and I'm like...who's young Jai I'm here because Samuel beam is the man, but honestly I'm just glad everyone who found it did regardless of how
@eddinaungguedd5759
Thanks to Youngjae of GOT7 for sharing about this masterpiece โค.
@squiggly_lines
Pure poetry, thank you for this song. <3<3<3
@ferrysaputra6586
This is very good music ๐ต
@hellangels_23
This song could have fitted perfectly into the final episode of The Haunting Of Hill House
@levi_ackerman_119
Who else enjoys that little bit of a-capella near the start of the song?
@GiovanniCorazzol
Radiotre (Italy's Public Radio) brought me here...