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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Phoenix
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They don't feel the world the way you feel, no
You spread your wings like a phoenix, girl
Burnin' out like a song you heard and forgotten since
The lyrics to Iron & Wine's song Phoenix are poignant and full of imagery. The first line, "you're a raven on a tractor wheel," is a striking metaphor that suggests a sense of displacement or incongruity. Ravens are often associated with darkness and death, while tractors are symbols of progress and productivity. By combining the two, the lyricist is suggesting that the subject of the song is both out of place and out of step with the rest of the world.
The second line, "They don't feel the world the way you feel, no," reinforces this idea by suggesting that the subject of the song is somehow different from everyone else. They feel things more deeply or intensely than others, and this can be both a blessing and a curse. The third line, "You spread your wings like a phoenix, girl," is a hopeful image that suggests the subject is capable of rising from the ashes and soaring to new heights.
However, the final line, "Burnin' out like a song you heard and forgotten since," is bittersweet. It suggests that the subject of the song may be destined to flame out, like a forgotten song that once captivated an audience but has since faded away. Overall, the lyrics to Phoenix are a poignant exploration of the tensions between individuality and belonging, hope and despair, and the fleeting nature of existence.
Line by Line Meaning
You're a raven on a tractor wheel
You're a unique individual, not meant to be in the situation you currently find yourself in, like a bird of prey resting on a farming tool meant for a different purpose.
They don't feel the world the way you feel, no
Others may not perceive things the way you do, and that's okay.
You spread your wings like a phoenix, girl
Despite adversity, you rise above and continue to grow and evolve, like a mythical bird rising from the ashes.
Burnin' out like a song you heard and forgotten since
Your passion may burn bright, but it may also fade with time, much like a melody that once moved you, but has now been forgotten.
Contributed by Brooklyn N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Eric Wicoff
Thanks for posting this. Great song and show.