Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of folk rock singer and compose… Read Full Bio ↴Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of folk rock singer and composer Sam Beam (born July 26, 1974). He currently resides in Dripping Springs, Texas, outside Austin. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store.

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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Dearest Forsaken
Iron & Wine Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

To my dearest forsaken
Who the earth now has taken
Empty, the bottle drains no more

It is true that I loved you
Despite the harm that I own you
Wash out the river has you boy

Here on the eve of too long
Where you'll think I've done wrong
Waking in fear of you no more

I'll put my trust in the savior
Fielding forces of nature
Strength of the stump I tied you boy

To my dearest forsaken
Dearest vow I have broken
Afraid of your angry hands no more

I'll put my trust in the savior

River may help me later
Sleeping my lost love for you boy

Overall Meaning

In Iron & Wine's Dearest Forsaken, the singer addresses their lost lover who has passed away and whose bottle has now run dry. Despite having caused harm to the lover, the singer affirms their love for them and refers to them as their "dearest forsaken." The lines "wash out the river has you boy" and "strength of the stump I tied you boy" imply a certain level of violence and control the singer had over their lover. However, the singer recognizes their own wrongdoing and is now waking in fear of their lover no more.

As the song progresses, the singer repeats their trust in the savior and nature, and acknowledges breaking their vow to the lover. The repetition of "sleeping my lost love for you boy" indicates that the singer is mourning the loss of the lover, but is also trying to move on from the past and the harm they caused. The use of "boy" also adds a certain tenderness to the lyrics, emphasizing the love the singer had for their lover despite their flaws.

Overall, Dearest Forsaken is a hauntingly beautiful song that explores themes of love, loss, guilt, and redemption. The lyrics are reflective and introspective, and the melody and instrumentation add to the melancholic atmosphere of the song.

Line by Line Meaning

To my dearest forsaken
Addressing the one who was abandoned and left alone

Who the earth now has taken
Referring to the person who has died and gone underground

Empty, the bottle drains no more
The alcohol is now finished and consumed

It is true that I loved you
Acknowledging the feeling of having affection towards someone

Despite the harm that I own you
Despite causing them harm in the past

Wash out the river has you boy
The river will wash away your sins and mistakes

Here on the eve of too long
At a point of time where it's almost too late

Where you'll think I've done wrong
A time when the person realizes their mistake and apologizes for it

Waking in fear of you no more
Not waking up in fear of the person anymore

I'll put my trust in the savior
Having faith in a higher power to guide them

Fielding forces of nature
Facing the challenges of nature