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/
Godless Brother
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You might as well
Lay down that rose
And fold the flag
She is money and tabs
That broken freedom in
See her big children burning rags
You can hear them on the hilltop laughing
Cursing every bird in the air
Telling her what fun they're having
Driving eyes closed
Godless brother
As far as I can tell
The night won't compensate the blight
She looks lovely
As lightning all
But what the hell
Her big kids all run down the road
With no memories at all
And you can hear them on the hilltop laughing
Cursing every bird in the air
Telling her what fun they're having
Driving eyes closed
The lyrics of Iron & Wine's song, Godless Brother in Love, depict a lonely and desperate character who seems to be wrestling with his own beliefs and desires. The opening lines, "Godless brother in love, you might as well lay down that rose and fold the flag," suggest a sense of resignation and defeat, as if the character has given up on something important to him. The next lines refer to a "she" who represents a tempting but dangerous force, perhaps a lover or an addiction. The lines "she is money and tabs, that broken freedom in," suggest that this woman is both alluring and destructive, offering a fleeting sense of liberation that ultimately leads to ruin.
The later lines of the song seem to suggest that this woman's influence has spread to others, as her "big children" are described as "burning rags by the riverside" and running "down the road with no memories at all." The final lines, "and you can hear them on the hilltop laughing, cursing every bird in the air, telling her what fun they're having, driving eyes closed," suggest a sense of reckless abandon and nihilism, as if the characters are completely cut off from society and morality. Overall, the song paints a vivid picture of a character struggling with his own demons and the influence of a dangerous woman, leading to a sense of loss and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Godless brother in love
Addressed to a brother who is in love without religious faith.
You might as well
You might as well do something different and give up on love.
Lay down that rose
Abandon the idealistic romantic notions and forget about love.
And fold the flag
Give up on the patriotic duty to uphold the noble ideas associated with love.
She is money and tabs
The woman is a mix of drugs and greed.
That broken freedom in
She represents a flawed understanding of freedom.
See her big children burning rags
Her grown children are poor and in bad shape.
By the riverside
At the edge of civilization where they can only eke out a living.
You can hear them on the hilltop laughing
The singer tells a story of the woman and her children enjoying their lives in a poverty-stricken area.
Cursing every bird in the air
Envious of everything good in the world.
Telling her what fun they're having
Reveling in the fact that they are happy in their suffering.
Driving eyes closed
Living in the moment without contemplating their future.
Godless brother
Returning to the singer's initial address to the brother.
As far as I can tell
Based on his opinion and observations.
The night won't compensate the blight
There will be no redemption for the wrongs committed in the past.
She looks lovely
Although appealing at first glance.
As lightning all
Like a powerful force of nature.
But what the hell
But the reality of the situation is bleak.
Her big kids all run down the road
Her grown children are aimless.
With no memories at all
They have no worthwile experiences that they can look back to.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Eylül Koçyiğit
Birinizde sözleri yazmamışsınız
Godless brother in love
You might as well
Lay down that rose
And fold the flag
She is money and tabs
That broken freedom in
See her big children burning rags
By the riverside
You can hear them on the hilltop laughing
Cursing every bird in the air
Telling her what fun they're having
Driving eyes closed
Godless brother
As far as I can tell
The night won't compensate the blight
She looks lovely
As lightning all
But what the hell
Her…
Ahana Deb
Lyrics:
Deep inside the heart of this troubled man
There's innie binnie boy talking hard at your hand
Born bitter as a lemon, but you must understand
That you've been bringing me joy
And now in lie, no, you don't want the truth
I'm only fighting cause you finally gave me something to lose
And it's as loud as a thunder cloud and you will, too
But you've been bringing me joy
Deep inside the heart of this crazy mess
I'm only calm when I get lost within your well darkness
Born crooken as a creek now you've come to contest
That you've been bringing me joy
When I'm love I'm living for you
When I've been blue but dying got me singing the blues
And it's a hard up silly song and bumbling tune
But now you're bringing me joy.
Conor McNamara
I totally support sam beam and the direction he's taken his music in but i wish he did this video himself instead. The video he did for southern anthem was fantastic and I didn't feel like i was just watching hipsters hanging out. He's got such a way with imagery, I would love to see another video he does personally,
Anthony Michael
this guy has never written a bad song...wonderful.
Eylül Koçyiğit
Birinizde sözleri yazmamışsınız
Godless brother in love
You might as well
Lay down that rose
And fold the flag
She is money and tabs
That broken freedom in
See her big children burning rags
By the riverside
You can hear them on the hilltop laughing
Cursing every bird in the air
Telling her what fun they're having
Driving eyes closed
Godless brother
As far as I can tell
The night won't compensate the blight
She looks lovely
As lightning all
But what the hell
Her…
krilla
I saw him perform this live at the Jimmy Fallon show a few years ago. I won tickets to be down by the set. It was fucking amazing. I teared.
Johnny Gunner
Such an amazing video and song. It's so good I have used it as a video/short story for my new playlist project. The Journey of the Human Spirit guided by the most magical music videos and fan creations on Youtube. Read the description and give it a whirl sometime. it's an imagination based journey. Thank you.
SARAH CHAN
Love Iron & Wine's soothing melody and vocal leave every thing behind and just listen to his songs!
Martha Hulse
Absolutely beautiful!!
Ahana Deb
Lyrics:
Deep inside the heart of this troubled man
There's innie binnie boy talking hard at your hand
Born bitter as a lemon, but you must understand
That you've been bringing me joy
And now in lie, no, you don't want the truth
I'm only fighting cause you finally gave me something to lose
And it's as loud as a thunder cloud and you will, too
But you've been bringing me joy
Deep inside the heart of this crazy mess
I'm only calm when I get lost within your well darkness
Born crooken as a creek now you've come to contest
That you've been bringing me joy
When I'm love I'm living for you
When I've been blue but dying got me singing the blues
And it's a hard up silly song and bumbling tune
But now you're bringing me joy.
Diana Hadzega
Its beautiful and I love it...love is for everyone young and old!
barney906
Love the song from 1:36 onwards...its like the Beach Boys suddenly walked into the studio