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."
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Dark Eyes
Iron & Wine Lyrics
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They're drinking up and walking and it is time for me to slide
I live in another world where life and death are memorized
Where the earth is strung with lover's pearls and all I see are dark eyes.
A cock is crowing far away and another soldier's deep in prayer
Some mother's child has gone astray, she can't find him anywhere
But I hear another rum beating for the dead that rise
They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes
They tell me revenge is sweet, I'm sure it is
But I feel nothing for their game, where beauty goes unrecognized
All I feel is heat and flame, and all I see are dark eyes.
Oh, the French girl, she's in paradise and a drunken man is at the wheel
Hunger pays a heavy prize to the falling god of speed and steel
Oh, time is short and the days are sweet and passion rules the arrow that flies
A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes.
The song "Dark Eyes" by Iron & Wine & Calexico is a haunting ballad that speaks of the desolation of life and the inevitability of death. The song starts with the description of a group of men drinking and walking by the riverside, while the singer reflects on his life in another world, where everything is ephemeral, and all he can see are dark eyes. The darkness in the eyes could be a metaphor for the sadness and futility of existence, or it could represent the all-encompassing power of death, which is the ultimate reality.
Throughout the song, the singer observes the world around him, from the sound of a cock crowing to the prayers of soldiers, and the desperation of a mother looking for her lost child. However, he feels disconnected from these events, as if he is a mere observer, and all he can feel is the heat and flame burning inside him. This could be interpreted as a sign of despair and resignation, or it could be a symbol of a fire that refuses to be extinguished, even in the face of life's hardships.
Finally, the song ends with a description of a French girl in paradise, and a drunken man at the wheel, driving towards an inevitable crash. The singer observes the multitude of faces at his feet, but all he can see are dark eyes, which could be interpreted as a final acceptance of the darkness that awaits us all. Overall, the song is a beautiful and poignant meditation on the transience of life and the inevitability of death.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, the gentlemen are talking and the midnight moon is on the riverside
Men are engaged in conversation under the moonlit sky by the river
They're drinking up and walking and it is time for me to slide
They are drinking and leaving, prompting me to depart
I live in another world where life and death are memorized
I exist in a reality where life and death are inevitable and frequently encountered
Where the earth is strung with lover's pearls and all I see are dark eyes.
A world where beauty and tragedy coexist, and all I perceive are melancholic and mysterious eyes
A cock is crowing far away and another soldier's deep in prayer
A rooster crows from a distance, as a soldier prays for something meaningful
Some mother's child has gone astray, she can't find him anywhere
A mother is searching for her missing child who has disappeared without a trace
But I hear another rum beating for the dead that rise
The ominous sound of a drum resonates, signaling the undead's return
Whom nature's beast fear as they come and all I see are dark eyes.
The animals are frightened by their arrival, and all I witness are enigmatic eyes
They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes
People advise me to be careful for various reasons
They tell me revenge is sweet, I'm sure it is
They say that vengeance is satisfying, and I do not disagree
But I feel nothing for their game, where beauty goes unrecognized
However, I am indifferent to their schemes where beautiful things are unappreciated
All I feel is heat and flame, and all I see are dark eyes.
All I sense is passion and intensity, and all I see are those inscrutable eyes
Oh, the French girl, she's in paradise and a drunken man is at the wheel
The French woman is in heaven, while an intoxicated man recklessly drives the vehicle
Hunger pays a heavy prize to the falling god of speed and steel
The desire for excitement extracts a costly sacrifice from the god of velocity
Oh, time is short and the days are sweet and passion rules the arrow that flies
Time is fleeting and the moments are significant, governed by fervor that propels the arrow
A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes.
Countless faces surround me, yet my focus is only on those inscrutable and ineffable eyes
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB DYLAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind