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/
Foot of the Manger
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Reminds her of the time
And low country boys, and their bottles without her
Though she's on their minds
Hands in black mud, at the foot of the manger
She'll always be young
And free to be wrong
We are blessed, aren't we, in the shade of these large auburn leaves
Unexpectedly we arrive where we're all meant to be
Awake through the night, and she prays in the morning
For distance from harm
And low country boys
With their wealth of protection and mean battle-arms
Hands in black mud, as she sits by the manger
And closes her eyes
The wind blows outside
A black car pulls the gravel and wants her to ride
We are blessed, aren't we, in the shade of these large auburn leaves
Unexpectedly we arrive where we're all meant to be
So who will she love, with her head lowed like ashes
The sky lost tonight
The wind blows outside
A glass jar in the window, her shape blocks the candle light
The opening lines of Iron & Wine's Foot of the Manger set the stage for a haunting and introspective journey. The "flood water 'round her" suggests a sense of being caught up in something overwhelming and uncontrollable, while the reference to "low country boys" and their bottles without her suggests a longing for something that can never be fully realized. Meanwhile, the refrain about the "hands in black mud, at the foot of the manger" evokes a sense of both humility and profound spiritual meaning. The image of a black lamb licking the dirt off her feet with his tongue adds to this sense of reverence and connection to something greater than oneself.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the singer is seeking some sort of comfort or solace in the face of difficult circumstances. She prays for "distance from harm" and seems to feel somewhat isolated from the "low country boys" with their "wealth of protection" and "mean battle-arms." Yet, there is still a sense of peace to be found, perhaps symbolized by the "shade of these large auburn leaves" and the idea of arriving "where we're all meant to be."
Line by Line Meaning
Awake through the night, and this flood water 'round her
Even during sleepless nights, the floods around her keep reminding her of something.
Reminds her of the time
The floods around her keep reminding her of some past event.
And low country boys, and their bottles without her
She thinks of the southern boys she knew who used to drink without her.
Though she's on their minds
She thinks that even though they don't express it, the boys still think about her.
Hands in black mud, at the foot of the manger
She is reaching down and dirtying her hands in black mud at the base of the manger.
She'll always be young
She believes that she'll always be young.
And free to be wrong
She believes that she has the freedom to make mistakes in her life.
A black lamb licks the dirt off her feet with his tongue
A black lamb is cleaning the dirt off her feet by licking them with its tongue.
We are blessed, aren't we, in the shade of these large auburn leaves
The artist feels that they are fortunate to be in the shade of these large auburn leaves.
Unexpectedly we arrive where we're all meant to be
The artist feels that they have unexpectedly arrived where they were all meant to be.
Awake through the night, and she prays in the morning
She stays awake through the night and prays in the morning for safety.
For distance from harm
She prays for distance from harm.
And low country boys
She thinks of the southern boys she knew.
With their wealth of protection and mean battle-arms
She thinks of the southern boys who have the wealth for protection and have mean battle-arms.
Hands in black mud, as she sits by the manger
She is sitting by the manger with her hands in the black mud.
And closes her eyes
She closes her eyes.
The wind blows outside
There is wind blowing outside.
A black car pulls the gravel and wants her to ride
Her attention is drawn to a black car outside that wants her to take a ride.
We are blessed, aren't we, in the shade of these large auburn leaves
The singer feels that they are fortunate to be in the shade of these large auburn leaves.
Unexpectedly we arrive where we're all meant to be
The artist feels that they have unexpectedly arrived where they were all meant to be.
So who will she love, with her head lowed like ashes
She wonders who she will love, with her head bowed down like ashes.
The sky lost tonight
The sky is lost tonight, possibly referring to the absence of stars.
The wind blows outside
There is wind blowing outside.
A glass jar in the window, her shape blocks the candle light
There is a glass jar in the window that is being obscured by her shape in front of the candle light.
Contributed by Isaiah T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Erik K
Thank you for posting this. It means so much right now.