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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New Mexico's No Breeze
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On every green road sign
When you left Santa Fe.
We were two string beans
And you were too 19
To be blowing away
Hiding hands and hiding prayers
And all their mumbling
Now they left you alone
Tangled heels and tiny veery oh's
Singing something
Stuck with open curls
Your mama was scared of the world,
It was born with a bang
I was stepping on sea shells
By the old Mission San Miguel
When a bell tower rang
And the sky fell apart
Heard the rain, I heard your heart
And what was spoken.
Cause nothing bends for a name
Nothing wants to stay the same
And nothing's broken
When your friends and their friends
Pass the pipe or tie the knot
Honeymoon music played
In the drive-thru parking lot
I woke up by your bed
You were wandering around the yard
Window wide as a day
But the sun just hit too hard
In a home void of doors
Mama's house slowed a little more
In the evening.
Naked boys throwing stones
Beady eyes and desert bones
They saw you leaving.
God gave you bobwhites
And the good kind of black night
When you left Santa Fe
New Mexico's no breeze
And you were so 19
You were blowing away
The opening line, “God gave you red light on every green road sign when you left Santa Fe,” suggests that the song is about someone leaving a place where they were comfortable and safe. The red lights on the road signs imply that the person was feeling anxious and unsure about their departure. The next verse talks about the person who left Santa Fe being only 19 and “blowing away”, or being blown away, by the winds of change they were experiencing.
The song goes on to describe the environment the person is leaving behind, with “thieves in the square hiding hands and hiding prayers” and “mumbling” that suggests some sense of secrecy or dishonesty. The image of “tangled heels and tiny veery oh’s singing something” is more abstract, but the sense of isolation and confusion is clear.
The song then shifts to describe the experience of the person who was left behind, with the singer waking up to find them wandering around “window wide as a day” but overwhelmed by the sun. The final verse provides a contrast between the “good kind of black night” and the lack of a breeze in New Mexico, suggesting that the person who left was searching for something that they couldn’t find there. The line “you were blowing away” takes on a different meaning in this final verse, suggesting that the person who left was blown off course and unable to find their way back to where they belonged.
Line by Line Meaning
God gave you red light
You were warned by the universe through every green road sign that you overlooked when you were leaving Santa Fe.
On every green road sign
The signs that you ignored while leaving Santa Fe.
When you left Santa Fe.
You left Santa Fe and everything that it held behind, probably for good.
We were two string beans
We were thin, weak and fragile, with barely any strength to withstand the storms that were coming our way.
And you were too 19
And you were just too young and inexperienced to realize the gravity of what you were doing.
To be blowing away
To be blown away by the winds of life and fate, like a leaf in autumn.
There were thieves in the square
The world is filled with people who take things away from you without mercy, even in the midst of prayers and rituals.
Hiding hands and hiding prayers
The thieves were hiding their true intentions and innermost desires, just like the prayers that people whisper secretly in their hearts.
And all their mumbling
The sound of all their combined murmurs and whispers, like a dense fog that surrounds everything.
Now they left you alone
Now that they've taken what they want, they've abandoned you, leaving you alone and vulnerable to new dangers.
Tangled heels and tiny veery oh's
You are now weak, confused, and lost, crying tiny sobs of despair.
Singing something
Trying to make sense of the chaos around you and finding some solace in the beauty of music.
Stuck with open curls
You are trapped in a state of innocence, wondering why the world is so cruel and hostile to those who are not prepared.
Your mama was scared of the world,
Your mother knew that the world is not a safe place, and she tried to protect you from its harsh realities.
It was born with a bang
The world came into existence violently and chaotically, and it has been like that ever since.
I was stepping on sea shells
I was walking on the remains of something beautiful, something that was once alive and vibrant, but is now nothing more than a shell of its former self.
By the old Mission San Miguel
I was walking beside an ancient and holy place, where people have gone for centuries to pray and seek guidance.
When a bell tower rang
The sound of the bells ringing echoes through the air, signaling a call to action or a warning of danger.
And the sky fell apart
The universe seems to crumble around you, as if the very fabric of reality is coming undone.
Heard the rain, I heard your heart
Amidst the chaos, I could hear the sound of your heart, beating in time with the rain falling around us.
And what was spoken.
I could hear the unspoken thoughts and emotions that lingered between us, even though no words were spoken aloud.
Cause nothing bends for a name
In the grand scheme of things, titles and names mean nothing, and they cannot sway the course of destiny or fate.
Nothing wants to stay the same
Everything is constantly changing, evolving, and transforming, and nothing can stay the same forever.
And nothing's broken
Even though everything seems chaotic and uncertain, nothing is actually broken, and everything will eventually find its place in the grand order of things.
When your friends and their friends
When your friends and their circle of acquaintances, none of whom you know very well.
Pass the pipe or tie the knot
When they are busy smoking a pipe, which is a reference to marijuana, or getting married or starting families.
Honeymoon music played
They are listening to sweet, romantic music, which is often associated with the beginning of a marriage or honeymoon.
In the drive-thru parking lot
In the commercialized, mass-produced environment of a fast food restaurant's parking lot.
I woke up by your bed
I suddenly find myself awakening to the reality of my situation and the consequences of my choices.
You were wandering around the yard
You are aimlessly wandering through life, unsure of your direction or your purpose.
Window wide as a day
You leave yourself wide open and vulnerable to the world, with no protection or walls to guard yourself against harm.
But the sun just hit too hard
You are overexposed to the harsh, bright light of the sun, which symbolizes the harsh realities of life that you must now face.
In a home void of doors
You are trapped in a place where you have no way out or means of escape, no matter how much you may want to leave or flee.
Mama's house slowed a little more
Your mother's house is a place where time seems to slow down, and you are stuck in a state of limbo, neither moving forward nor backward.
In the evening.
In the twilight hours of your life, when the world begins to fade away and the night starts to set in.
Naked boys throwing stones
A group of wild, carefree boys throwing stones and acting out in the desert.
Beady eyes and desert bones
Their eyes are glittering and sharp, like the desert wildlife that surrounds them, and their bones are strong and durable, like the landscape itself.
They saw you leaving.
They witnessed your departure from Santa Fe, and they do not seem to care or take notice of you.
God gave you bobwhites
God blessed you with the gentle and melodic sound of the bobwhite bird, which is a symbol of peace and tranquility.
And the good kind of black night
When the night sky is peaceful and calm, and the darkness is comforting and restful.
When you left Santa Fe
At the moment of your departure from Santa Fe, you were surrounded by peace, calm, and tranquility, despite the chaos that lay ahead.
New Mexico's no breeze
New Mexico does not offer much respite or solace, but instead is a place of harshness and struggle.
And you were so 19
And you were just a teenager, barely an adult, trying your best to find your place in the world.
You were blowing away
You were swept away by the winds of fate and time, which carried you to new places and new experiences.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind