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/
Our Friends Shrine
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And your friends shine around you now
Yeah, you know this place
And their hands make the safest house
That you know, yeah, you know
And the sun's sinkin' slowly down
Over time, over time, and again
And it sleeps right beside you now
Yeah, you love this face
And it speaks from inside you now
Like your own, yeah your own
And the sun's sinking slowly down
Over us, over time, and again
Yeah, we chose this place
Though I don't recognize the ground
It's a lonely place
That our friend's shine around us now
And they glow, yeah, they glow
Like the sun sinking slowly down
Over us, over us, once again
The lyrics to Iron & Wine's song "Our Friends Shrine" paint a picture of familiarity, comfort, and companionship. The singer acknowledges being in a place they know well, surrounded by their friends who bring light and safety into their life. The repetition of "you know this place" and "you love this face" implies a deep connection and familiarity with their surroundings, as well as an intimate bond with someone close to them.
The lyrics also suggest a sense of solace and tranquility. The hands of their friends create a safe and secure environment, while the presence of a loved one's face brings a sense of inner peace and speaks from within. The sun sinking slowly down symbolizes the passage of time, perhaps indicating that the singer finds comfort in the constancy of these relationships, even as time moves forward.
In the final verse, there is a slight shift in perspective. It is mentioned that "we chose this place," suggesting a collaborative decision to be in this particular setting. However, the singer confesses a lack of recognition for the ground they stand on, implying that the place itself might be different or unfamiliar. Nevertheless, they find solace in the glowing presence of their friends, once again emphasizing the importance of these relationships in their life.
Overall, "Our Friends Shrine" speaks to the significance of companionship and the comfort it brings, even in uncertain times or unfamiliar surroundings. It highlights the power of connection, both with one's surroundings and with the people who hold a special place in their heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, you know this place
You are familiar with this location
And your friends shine around you now
Your friends provide support and comfort to you at this moment
And their hands make the safest house
Your friends create a secure and comforting environment for you
That you know, yeah, you know
You are fully aware and familiar with this feeling of safety
And the sun's sinkin' slowly down
The day is coming to an end
Over time, over time, and again
Repeatedly, as time passes, the sun sets
Yeah, you know this face
You are acquainted with this face
And it sleeps right beside you now
It is closely connected to you, like a companion
Yeah, you love this face
You have strong affection for this face
And it speaks from inside you now
It communicates with you from within yourself
Like your own, yeah your own
Similar to your own voice or thoughts
And the sun's sinking slowly down
The day is coming to an end
Over us, over time, and again
Repeatedly, as time passes, the sun sets upon us
Yeah, we chose this place
We deliberately selected this location
Though I don't recognize the ground
Even though the surroundings seem unfamiliar to me
It's a lonely place
This location evokes feelings of solitude
That our friend's shine around us now
But our friends provide light and companionship to us at present
And they glow, yeah, they glow
They radiate warmth and brightness
Like the sun sinking slowly down
Similar to how the sun descends slowly
Over us, over us, once again
Once more, the sun sets upon us
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wp3111
"Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" - 0:00
"White Tooth Man" - 4:30
"Lovesong of the Buzzard" - 8:30
"Carousel" - 12:55
"House by the Sea" - 16:58
"Innocent Bones" - 21:18
"Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)" - 25:00
"Resurrection Fern" - 29:58
"Boy With a Coin" - 34:48
"The Devil Never Sleeps" - 38:52
"Peace Beneath the City" - 41:00
"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" - 45:45
Anuja Ghosh
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
Anuja Ghosh
Said the plain clothes cop to the beauty queen
"Ive seen nothing but a spoke in a wheel"
So she gave up her crown to a kid with a crutch
And they both felt cheated after closing the deal
And the white tooth man, I ran with him
Got all cut up from pissing out in the weeds
And a fight upstate with a broken blade
And a wife whose finger never wanted a ring
Said the plain clothes cop to the Indian chief
"I've made nothing but an honest mistake"
The postman cried while reading the mail
And we all got trampled in the Christmas parade
And the white tooth man who sold me a gun
A map of Canaan and a government bond
Said, "I love this town, but it ain't the same"
The ski mask ripped as he was putting it on
Said the plain clothes cop to the holy ghost
"I've heard nothing if it wasn't the wind"
And we all got sick on a strip club meal
While the statehouse was frying all the witches again
So the white tooth man with his kids in the car
And a wad of money that was already spent
Said, "I love my dog but she just ran away
She'll keep running like the world never ends
Anuja Ghosh
Almost home
And I miss the bottom stair
You were braiding your grey hair
And it's grown so long
Since I've been gone
Now the perfect girls,
By the pool, they would protest
With crosses 'round their necks,
But our sons were overseas,
And we all know about the hive and the honey bees.
Almost home
With an olive branch and a dove
You were beating on a Persian rug
With your Bible and your wedding band
Both hidden on the TV stand.
And the cruel wind blew
Every city father fell
Off the county carousel
While the dogs were eating snow
All our sons had sunk in a trunk
Of no one's clothes
Almost home,
We got lost on our new street,
While your grieving girls all died in their sleep,
So the dogs all went unfed,
A great dream of bones all piled on a bed
And the cops couldn't care,
When that crack head built a boat
And said, "Please, before I go
May your only honor bought
Be the kinship of the kids in the riot squad."
wp3111
"Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car" - 0:00
"White Tooth Man" - 4:30
"Lovesong of the Buzzard" - 8:30
"Carousel" - 12:55
"House by the Sea" - 16:58
"Innocent Bones" - 21:18
"Wolves (Song of the Shepherd's Dog)" - 25:00
"Resurrection Fern" - 29:58
"Boy With a Coin" - 34:48
"The Devil Never Sleeps" - 38:52
"Peace Beneath the City" - 41:00
"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" - 45:45
mage4005
Nice :)
wp3111
thank you!
Bella G
w
Hunt Jarvis
thanks
Iron Pig
😘
Viktorija Jankauskaitė
Some music comes into your life... and never leaves. It does not resemble a period of your life, or a precious memory... It simply is a part of your life, all of it, and leads you along as you live it.
Petitkus
Thanks
Joe Payter
Weird but then not weird that this is the top comment besides the tracklist. I came back to this album after not listening to it for 12 years because the memory of the first time I listened to it was so vivid.
Tina Tee
I listened to this album nonstop in 2008... over and over. I was pregnant with my twin boys, and the rhythms were so helpful to my growing body