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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Someday the Waves
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For snow
Seems like a long long time since I spun you to this borrowed radio
You pick a place that's where I'll be
Time like your cheek has turned for me
Someday the waves will stop(and)every aching
Old machine will feel no pain
Someday we both will walk where our baby made
Waking before you I'm like the lord who sees his love though we don't know
Seems like a long long time since I've been above you
Seen and loved you so
You pick a place that's where I'll be
Time like your cheek has turned for me
The lyrics to Iron & Wine's Someday the Waves speaks of a deep love between two individuals. The singer wakes up before their partner and has a fever along with a childlike desire for snow. They reminisce about a past moment shared with their partner, where they spun each other to a borrowed radio, and while the past seems far, the singer still feels like they can pick a place and they will be there. The face of time has turned as well, signifying a change in their relationship, but the singer remains devoted to their partner.
The chorus is where the song takes a more hopeful turn. The waves will someday stop, indicating that the turmoil in their relationship will end. The old machine, which may represent their relationship, will stop aching, and they will both walk where their baby made, signifying a future where they can be together with their child. In the last line, the singer sees themselves as a lord who can see their love, even if it is not evident to the naked eye, indicating that their love is strong and steadfast.
Overall, the song speaks of love and hope even in the face of difficult times. The lyrics are simple yet powerful, and the melody adds to the emotional impact of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Waking before you, I've got a fever and a childish wish
For snow
I wake up earlier than you and I have a fever, but I am also wishing for snow like a child
Seems like a long long time since I spun you to this borrowed radio
It feels like a really long time has passed since I played music for you on this borrowed radio
You pick a place that's where I'll be
Time like your cheek has turned for me
Wherever you want to go, I will follow. Time has passed, but my love for you has only grown stronger
Someday the waves will stop(and)every aching
Old machine will feel no pain
Someday, all the rough waves and pains we face will come to an end, and everything will be at peace
Someday we both will walk where our baby made
Tomorrow is a game
One day, we will revisit the place where we made memories with our child. We don't know what tomorrow holds, but we will face it together
Waking before you I'm like the lord who sees his love though we don't know
Seems like a long long time since I've been above you
Seen and loved you so
Waking up before you feels like being a god who sees his loved one, even if we don't know what the future holds. It's been a long time since I had the power over you and truly saw and loved you
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAMUEL ERVIN BEAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Yourmother suckscocksinhell
Waking before you, I've got a fever and a childish wish
For snow
Seems like a long long time since I spun you to this borrowed radio
You pick a place that's where I'll be
Time like your cheek has turned for me
Someday the waves will stop(and)every aching
Old machine will feel no pain
Someday we both will walk where our baby made
Tomorrow is a game
Waking before you I'm like the lord who sees his love though we don't know
Seems like a long long time since I've been above you
Seen and loved you so
You pick a place that's where I'll be
Time like your cheek has turned for me
Kenny Cook
Unbelievably beautiful
Bradley Owens
That banjo solo doe!!!!
Dave Shichman
Good tune
magdiel
It make-me sleep. Is good
Nadir Khawaja
The only sensible non pretentious comment
Melanie Nelson
I've got a fever and a childish wish for snow. sigh