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/
Kingdom of Animals
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the moon blooms
All shining
As we dragged our panic
Up and down the riverbed
Sweating wild and weird
In our Sunday clothes
Though I thought that I knew her
And the rain came howling
Out of Virginia
Blue tick blowing the water
Out her nose
Jenny and me in the front row
And singing about how heaven calls
The kingdom of the animals all
And all revealed to us one day
Jenny and me on the hilltop
And peeking at all their upturned bottles
Jumping like leopards
Jaw hearp teasing the brushfire in its rage
Jenny came back
And the wet road still shining in our eyes
An angel clear and coronal
Clothed in all that's prodigal and strange
Jenny came back
And I thought that I heard her
Murmur something about
No men in Virginia
Spat on the ground
Like a letter tossed away
Jenny and me in my dead truck
And turning over
Just where heaven calls
The kingdom of the animals
Scratching our heads
Where the wolf would go to lay
Jenny and me as the moon blooms
Were closing and both her wide-eyed brothers
Running like shepherds
Dreaming the heat of the fields
All in flames
The lyrics of Iron & Wine's song "Kingdom of the Animals" tell a story of two people, Jenny and the singer, who are experiencing a range of emotions as they explore their surroundings. The song opens with Jenny being "gone" and the moon shining. The singer describes their panicked search for Jenny and their wild and weird appearance in their Sunday clothes. They seem to be sweating as they search up and down the riverbed for her.
After searching for Jenny, the singer recalls being with her in the front row, singing about heaven calling and the kingdom of the animals. They describe seeing all the animals revealed to them one day. Then, they remember being on a hilltop, peaking at upturned bottles and imitating leopards as their jaws hung loose and teased the brushfire.
As the song continues, Jenny returns and the wet road still shines in their eyes. The singer describes her as an angel, clear and coronal, clothed in all that's prodigal and strange. Jenny murmurs something about "no men in Virginia" and spits on the ground like a letter tossed away. The song ends with Jenny and the singer turning over in a dead truck where they consider where the wolf would go to lay, and both of her wide-eyed brothers running like shepherds and dreaming the heat of the fields all in flames.
Overall, the lyrics of "Kingdom of the Animals" are emotional and deeply personal, telling a story of loss, love, and exploration. The song uses rich metaphors and vivid imagery to convey the singer's experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Jenny was gone
The singer's friend Jenny has left or passed away
And the moon blooms
The moon is shining brightly in the night sky
All shining
The moon is radiating light and reflecting its glow onto everything around it
As we dragged our panic
The artist and someone else are feeling overwhelmed and uncertain
Up and down the riverbed
They are walking along a river, maybe looking for something or someone
Sweating wild and weird
The physical exertion is making them perspire heavily and feel strange
In our Sunday clothes
They are dressed formally, possibly suggesting they are not used to being outdoors like this
Though I thought that I knew her
The artist believed they understood Jenny, but she surprised them by leaving or changing
And the rain came howling
A heavy rainstorm began, making loud noises and adding to the chaos
Out of Virginia
The storm may have started in Virginia, or Virginia is related to the cause of the storm
Blue tick blowing the water
A dog breed called the blue tick is swimming or splashing around in the water nearby
Out her nose
The blue tick is blowing water out of its nose, perhaps playfully or as if hunting
Jenny and me in the front row
The singer and Jenny were watching something or participating in an event where a front row existed
And singing about how heaven calls
They are singing about religious or spiritual themes, focusing on the idea of heaven
The kingdom of the animals all
They believe in an afterlife where animals have their own realm or domain
And all revealed to us one day
Eventually they will understand or experience the truth of what they are singing about
Jenny and me on the hilltop
The artist and Jenny are on top of a hill, potentially looking out over a vast area or towards something in particular
And peeking at all their upturned bottles
They are observing or spying on someone who has overturned bottles nearby
Jumping like leopards
The creatures they are watching are moving quickly and gracefully, like leopards might
Jaw hearp teasing the brushfire in its rage
A jaw harp, a musical instrument played by vibrating one's mouth, is making a sound that sounds like it's taunting a nearby brushfire
Jenny came back
After disappearing earlier in the song, Jenny returns
And the wet road still shining in our eyes
The rain has stopped, but the road is wet and reflecting light, potentially making it difficult for them to see well
An angel clear and coronal
Jenny appears to the singer like an otherworldly being, with a halo-like aura around her head
Clothed in all that's prodigal and strange
Jenny is wearing something unusual or unexpected, and seems to represent something significant to the artist
Murmur something about / No men in Virginia
Jenny may have said something negative about Virginia or men in general that caught the singer's attention
Spat on the ground / Like a letter tossed away
Jenny expressed her disdain or anger by spitting on the ground, as if discarding something as worthless
Jenny and me in my dead truck / And turning over
The singer and Jenny are in a car that has stopped working or has a dead battery, and they are trying to start it up again
Scratching our heads / Where the wolf would go to lay
They are confused or unsure about what to do with their situation, and the artist makes a reference to where a wolf might lie down
Were closing and both her wide-eyed brothers
The artist and Jenny are becoming more distant, while her brothers are watching them closely
Running like shepherds / Dreaming the heat of the fields / All in flames
The brothers are running fast, like they are herding something or chasing after the singer and Jenny, but they are also imagining a fiery landscape that is threatening everything around them
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind