Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of folk rock singer and compose… Read Full Bio ↴Iron & Wine is the stage and recording name of folk rock singer and composer Sam Beam (born July 26, 1974). He currently resides in Dripping Springs, Texas, outside Austin. He has released six studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store.

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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Sacred Vision
Iron & Wine Lyrics

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"There's no way to temper your thirst
With lasting' impressions or pictures of home
There's no way to grow that don't hurt"
She growled from the station then hung up the phone

There's no sacred vision like her
No eye-crushing mountain or jewelry to wear
There's no granted wish I prefer

Then she to be with me, for us to be there

"I'd rather to be all alone
Forgiveness is fickle when trust is a chore

It's not every sin that's atoned"
I heard her speak softly then heard her no more

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in Iron & Wine's "Sacred Vision" speak of desire, loneliness, and the pain of growth. The opening lines talk about the impossibility of quenching one's thirst, whether for knowledge or fulfillment, through physical representations of memories or experiences. The singer implies that growth, no matter in what direction, will inevitably cause pain. However, it seems that despite this, the singer is driven by a sacred vision that exists in someone or something else. They describe this vision as being one-of-a-kind, surpassing even the most beautiful and impressive landscapes or jewels. The singer wishes only to be with this person, suggesting that their presence represents a kind of solace from the hardship of life.

The second verse goes on to describe an interaction between the singer and another person. This person says that they would rather be alone, implying that forgiveness is elusive and taxing. They speak of sins that cannot be atoned for, suggesting a deep sense of self-blame or guilt. The singer listens to this person's words and implies that they reflect their own fears and anxieties, but it seems that this solitude is not what they desire. The song ends on a melancholic note, with the singer hearing only the soft sound of their beloved's voice, then nothing at all.

Line by Line Meaning

There's no way to temper your thirst
You cannot satisfy your desires easily

With lasting impressions or pictures of home
Material things cannot quench your longing

There's no way to grow that don't hurt
Growth involves pain

She growled from the station then hung up the phone
A woman expressed her dissatisfaction and ended the call

There's no sacred vision like her
She is unique and incomparable

No eye-crushing mountain or jewelry to wear
No object is as breathtaking as her

There's no granted wish I prefer
I want nothing else

Then she to be with me, for us to be there
Except for being together

I'd rather to be all alone
I want to be alone

Forgiveness is fickle when trust is a chore
It's hard to forgive someone when building trust is difficult

It's not every sin that's atoned
Not every wrongdoing can be redeemed