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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Done This One Before
Iron & Wine Lyrics
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You'll be my good friend again, hold me
The light comes a-creeping in the morning, the curtain will rise again
I know, I know, because I've done this one before
Well, it's the end there, just the beginning, now I'm here
Caught in the middle, loving you comes
As easy as breathing, loving you comes, when everyone's leaving
I know, I know
Why must it be so?
Why ask for the moon?
Well, there's just so much, to want to be with her
Where was I when, she was in trouble?
Now I'm here and too late, as usual in the morning, well, she'll be returning
I know, I know, because I've read this one before
I know, I know
Why must it be so?
Why ask for the moon?
Well, in the morning, we'll have to pretend again, smiling
You'll be my good friend again, hold me
The light comes a-creeping in the morning, the curtain will rise again
I know, I know, because we've played this one before
The lyrics of Iron & Wine & Ben Bridwell's song "Done This One Before" reflect the emotions and experiences of someone caught up in a cyclical pattern of love and heartbreak. The singer presents a vivid description of a familiar and predictable routine - in the morning, they'll have to pretend everything is okay again, and the curtain will rise on yet another round of the same old song and dance. The repetition in the lyrics serves to emphasize the feelings of frustration and exhaustion that come with being stuck in a cycle.
The second verse of the song expands on the theme of the cyclical nature of love. The singer finds themselves caught in the middle of a turbulent relationship, where loving someone comes as easily as breathing but also leads to heartache when the inevitable end comes. The line, "loving you comes, when everyone's leaving" suggests that the singer's dedication to the relationship is at odds with the reality that everyone else has given up on it.
The chorus, "I know, I know, why must it be so? Why ask for the moon?" underscores the singer's resignation to their fate. They acknowledge that they have been in this situation before, and there is little that can be done to change the inevitable outcome.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, in the morning, we'll have to pretend again, smiling
Tomorrow we'll wake up and act like everything is normal, even though it's not
You'll be my good friend again, hold me
You'll put on a facade of friendship and comfort, but it's not real
The light comes a-creeping in the morning, the curtain will rise again
Morning will come and life will go on, despite everything that's happened
I know, I know, because I've done this one before
I'm familiar with this routine, because it's happened before
Well, it's the end there, just the beginning, now I'm here
One thing ends and another begins, and I find myself in the middle
Caught in the middle, loving you comes
I'm stuck between wanting to love you and not knowing if it's worth it
As easy as breathing, loving you comes, when everyone's leaving
Loving you is easy in comparison to other struggles, especially abandonment
I know, I know, because I've done this one before
I've been in this situation before, so I know what to expect
I know, I know
I'm aware of what's going on
Why must it be so?
Why does everything have to be so difficult?
Why ask for the moon?
Why strive for the impossible?
Well, there's just so much, to want to be with her
There are many reasons why I want to be with her
Where was I when, she was in trouble?
I wasn't there to help her when she needed me
Now I'm here and too late, as usual in the morning, well, she'll be returning
I'm here now, but it's too late and she's already moving on
I know, I know, because I've read this one before
I've seen this same story play out before
Well, in the morning, we'll have to pretend again, smiling
We'll have to keep up appearances in the morning, just like before
You'll be my good friend again, hold me
You'll pretend to be my friend and comfort me, even though it's fake
The light comes a-creeping in the morning, the curtain will rise again
The same old routine will begin again in the morning
I know, I know, because we've played this one before
We're both familiar with this pattern, because it's happened before
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ron Lane
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind