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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Friends They Are Jewels
Iron & Wine Lyrics
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On the steeple birds and this red-light hotel
So lay your pistol down, Granny
The company men never came to you
But don't unknit your brow, Granny
The mice in the yard ate the potted plants you grew
Perfect polished stones but this breeze beats you both
So lay your pistol down, Granny
The duty of men never fell to you
When you unknit your brow, Granny
Your friends, they are jewels, twice as beautiful and few
The lyrics of Iron & Wine's song Friends They Are Jewels suggest a sense of weariness and fatigue. The opening line, "Dreamless sleep will fall like a deep, poisoned well", sets the tone for the rest of the song. The imagery of the "steeple birds" and "red-light hotel" implies a feeling of confinement and entrapment. The lyrics suggest that the singer is looking for a way out of this situation, and is turning to his grandmother for guidance.
The song is addressed to the singer's grandmother, who is portrayed as a wise and experienced figure. The repeated refrain of "lay your pistol down, Granny" suggests that the grandmother is a fierce and independent woman who has had to fend for herself in a harsh world. The singer acknowledges that the grandmother has never had the help of "company men" or the "duty of men", but encourages her to remain resolute and steadfast.
The final verse of the song is perhaps the most poignant. The singer acknowledges that life can be tough and that there are some things that we cannot change. However, he suggests that the true value of life lies in the relationships we form with others. "Your friends, they are jewels, twice as beautiful and few" suggests that true friendship is rare and precious, and something that should be cherished above all else.
Line by Line Meaning
Dreamless sleep will fall like a deep, poisoned well
The sleep we get after a long day of troubles and poisonings is like a deep well
On the steeple birds and this red-light hotel
It's seen on the steeple of birds and from the red light of hotel
So lay your pistol down, Granny
Granny, please keep your gun aside
The company men never came to you
You never had the need for their support
But don't unknit your brow, Granny
Don't worry, Granny
The mice in the yard ate the potted plants you grew
The mice in the yard ate the plants that you carefully grew
Pour your bitter tea for our sweet, liquored host
Granny, please make us some bitter tea to go with our host's sweet liquor
Perfect polished stones but this breeze beats you both
Despite the perfect and polished stones, the breeze still wins over them both
The duty of men never fell to you
You never had the responsibility that falls on men
When you unknit your brow, Granny
When you relax, Granny
Your friends, they are jewels, twice as beautiful and few
Your friends are precious gems, twice as beautiful and rare
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind