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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Love Song Of The Buzzard
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lucy in the shade of the dogwood blooms
Yesterday the solace of a poison fish
Tomorrow I'll be kissing on her blood red lips
No one is the savior they would like to be
The love song of the buzzard in the dogwood tree
With a train of horses laughing through the traffic line
Springtime and the promise of an open fist
A tattoo of a flower on a broken wrist
Lucy tells me jokingly to wipe her brow
With a pocket map to heaven and the sun goes down
"03-Lovesong Of The Buzzard" is a melancholic yet poetic song about fleeting moments of beauty and love in the midst of the mundane and dark realities of life. The first verse sets the tone of the song as the singer describes the beauty of Lucy in the shade of the dogwood blooms, juxtaposed with the sorrow of a poison fish. The second verse delves deeper into the themes of the song, as the singer reflects on the limitations of people to be the saviors they aspire to be while observing a buzzard in a dogwood tree singing a love song, perhaps mocking the human desire for love and salvation. The third verse continues with the imagery of springtime and promises, but with the underlying knowledge that these may be illusions that cannot be realized, as Lucy jokes about a map to heaven.
Through this song, Iron & Wine and Calexico express their lyrical and musical collaboration, with Sam Beam's distinctive voice and poetic lyrics that are perfectly complemented by Calexico's evocative and experimental arrangements. The song is part of their collaborative album "In the Reins" released in 2005, which features seven original songs co-written by the two bands. "03-Lovesong Of The Buzzard" showcases their shared affinity for Americana and folk styles while also adding their unique touches of experimentation.
Line by Line Meaning
In the failing light of the afternoon
As the light of day slowly fades away
Lucy in the shade of the dogwood blooms
Lucy is standing in the cool shade of the dogwood tree's flowers
Yesterday the solace of a poison fish
Yesterday brought only temporary relief like a poisonous fish that makes you feel better before killing you
Tomorrow I'll be kissing on her blood red lips
Tomorrow I'll be passionately kissing her on her vibrant, red lips
No one is the savior they would like to be
No one can truly be the savior they aspire to become
The love song of the buzzard in the dogwood tree
The buzzard's haunting song of love echoes through the tree
With a train of horses laughing through the traffic line
A group of horses gallops joyfully through the crowded city streets
And the cradle's unimaginative sense of time
Time seems to cease as if stuck in the dull routine of infancy
Springtime and the promise of an open fist
Spring brings new beginnings and the hope for an unclenched hand
A tattoo of a flower on a broken wrist
A permanent reminder of beauty on a damaged wrist
Lucy tells me jokingly to wipe her brow
Lucy playfully instructs me to wipe the sweat from her forehead
With a pocket map to heaven and the sun goes down
As the sun sets, we hold onto a map to an idealistic heaven, a place of peace and happiness
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
saxatile
In the failing light of the afternoon
Lucy in the shade of the dogwood blooms
Yesterday the solace of a poison fish
Tomorrow I'll be kissing on her blood red lips
No one is the savior they would like to be
The love song of the buzzard in the dogwood tree
With a train of horses laughing through the traffic line
And the cradle's unimaginative sense of time
Springtime and the promise of an open fist
A tattoo of a flower on a broken wrist
Lucy tells me jokingly to wipe her brow
With a pocket map to heaven and the sun goes down
saxatile
In the failing light of the afternoon
Lucy in the shade of the dogwood blooms
Yesterday the solace of a poison fish
Tomorrow I'll be kissing on her blood red lips
No one is the savior they would like to be
The love song of the buzzard in the dogwood tree
With a train of horses laughing through the traffic line
And the cradle's unimaginative sense of time
Springtime and the promise of an open fist
A tattoo of a flower on a broken wrist
Lucy tells me jokingly to wipe her brow
With a pocket map to heaven and the sun goes down
Mary Mills
"The noises these buzzards make - raucous and elemental. The old birds make a kind of throaty chuckling to their young, but if they have a love song, I have not heard it."
(Mary Austin, The Land of Little Rain, pg. 16)
diff1star 2032
I've love this song for nearly 10 years.
Difceo
Eva Sunstone
It's ok if we all hear something different in the lyrics. I thought it was literally about what romance might be from a buzzard's perspective. What seems like carnage to humans is a romantic bounty for two buzzards in love. Just a thought.
Bear PlaysStuff
I like that idea, two buzzards in love :)
Md. Rahfi Hassan
অনেক ভাল লাগলো
Loved it
Andy Blanton
Damn, for such a high view count, very few likes/dislikes. And damn, for such a high like to dislike ratio, people really hate this song and this album.
PlaceboJesus
Wut
Michael Z-C
11/06/2019: no, i won't keep trampling myself like this
john darwin
sonic perfection .