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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No Moon
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Small and angry when the Devil came
Sold my soul like a pocket knife
There was no moon, there'll be no milk as sweet
Tomcat curled on a rabbit cage
Brittle fingers in the potter's clay
Sold my soul and I laid her down
Blue bird laughs on a fallen tree
Sunset burns on a quiet sea
Sold my soul and they ran me down
There was no moon, there'll be no milk as sweet
The lyrics of Iron & Wine's song No Moon are shrouded in a sense of mystery and darkness. The opening lines, "Black dog bit through the keeper's chain, Small and angry when the Devil came," reflects the idea of demons lurking in the shadows and the constant struggle between good and evil.
The singer of the song seems to have made a deal with the devil, which is evident from the lines "Sold my soul like a pocket knife," and "Sold my soul and I laid her down." The lyrics might be alluding to the concept of the Faustian bargain, where one exchanges their soul for power, fame, or wealth.
The repetition of the line "There was no moon, there'll be no milk as sweet" throughout the song is a reminder of the consequences of the deal with the devil. It is a belief held by some that a full moon is necessary to make sweet milk, and the absence of the moon signifies the loss of sweetness or innocence. Symbolically, the lack of the moon could stand for a slow and inevitable decline into darkness, as the singer struggles to come to terms with the bargain they have made.
Line by Line Meaning
Black dog bit through the keeper's chain
A fierce dog broke free from its chain and attacked its keeper
Small and angry when the Devil came
The Devil arrived in a small, menacing form
Sold my soul like a pocket knife
The singer made a deal with the Devil, trading their soul as casually as a pocket knife
There was no moon, there'll be no milk as sweet
The lack of a moon represents the absence of light and guidance in the artist's life, and they will no longer find joy in things they once used to enjoy
Tomcat curled on a rabbit cage
A lazy cat rested atop a cage that held helpless prey
Brittle fingers in the potter's clay
The singer's frail fingers struggled to mold clay, representing a difficulty in creating something new
Sold my soul and I laid her down
The singer gave up their soul in exchange for a specific desire, and afterwards they felt defeated and useless
There was no moon, there'll be no milk as sweet
The absence of light and guidance continues to affect the artist, causing them to lose their enjoyment in life
Blue bird laughs on a fallen tree
A peaceful bird finds humor in the destruction around them
Sunset burns on a quiet sea
The beauty of the sunset is intensified by its serenity
Sold my soul and they ran me down
The singer's loss of their soul has led to great hardship and feeling of being hunted
There was no moon, there'll be no milk as sweet
The artist's lack of guidance and joy continues to worsen as they face more obstacles
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind