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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Talking to Fog
Iron & Wine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All our stalls are turning back to stone
This is waking to our morning, falling through our floor
Our broken hearts as hard as broken bones
Sorrow says "believe me, you can walk into my mouth"
But every time we have, it's hard to leave
Let's say it like the sunrise when it's talking to the fog
Beneath our winter branches, underneath our winter clouds
But it's hard to find
Lovers all surrender, like the garden and weeds
It's always say when saying what mean
Our arms are full of water and the water all wants out
Like our meadow birds giving back their wings
Sorrow says "believe me, you can climb into my trees"
We know it's harder to get down each time we do
Let's say it like the sunrise talking to the fog
We're both listening for music by a river after dark
And every space we're making as we pull ourselves apart
But it's hard to find
Sorrow says "believe me, you can beat into my breast"
And all our bandages and bruises know it's true
Let's say it to the sunrise shaking us awake
We're both reaching out for love, outside wanting in
To a room that's made of moonlight and the walls are warm as skin
Where our memories of singing fill the air behind our heads
And our meadow bugs are living for the only flowers left
Where our burns return their fire and the cold can have our clothes
Where our dying deer is folded on the soft side of the road
Where the wind is our direction and the waves say "come along"
Where the faces of our family and friends go on and on
But it's hard to find
The lyrics to Iron and Wine's song "Talking to Fog" are filled with introspection and surrendering to the natural world. The first verse mentions surrendering to the garden and weeds, which could symbolize giving into nature's power and letting go of control. The second line talks about stalls turning back to stone, which could represent the aging process and the realization that everything will eventually come to an end. The line "Our broken hearts as hard as broken bones" suggests that the pain and hurt we experience in life can be just as physically demanding as a broken bone.
The chorus repeats the phrase "Let's say it like the sunrise when it's talking to the fog," which could symbolize finding hope in the midst of darkness and confusion. The third verse talks about surrendering like the garden and weeds and surrenders to the inevitability of suffering. The imagery of "Our arms are full of water and the water all wants out" is an exploration of the emotional weight we carry and the need for release. The final verse is a message of hope - a room made of moonlight, walls that are warm as skin, and memories of singing fill the air. It's a place where the natural world and loved ones are present and where the pain of life is left behind.
Line by Line Meaning
This is a surrender to the garden, to the weeds
All our stalls are turning back to stone
We are helpless in the face of our surroundings, and our attempts to change things inevitably come to nothing.
This is waking to our morning, falling through our floor
Our broken hearts as hard as broken bones
We are struggling to come to terms with the situation we find ourselves in, and the emotional pain we feel is overwhelming.
Sorrow says "believe me, you can walk into my mouth"
But every time we have, it's hard to leave
We are often drawn towards sadness and despair, but finding a way out of these feelings is difficult.
Let's say it like the sunrise when it's talking to the fog
We're both looking for a light in the window of a house
Beneath our winter branches, underneath our winter clouds
But it's hard to find
Despite the difficulties we face, we hold onto hope and search for something better, but it is elusive and hard to find in the bleakness of our circumstances.
Lovers all surrender, like the garden and weeds
It's always say when saying what mean
Our arms are full of water and the water all wants out
Like our meadow birds giving back their wings
Relationships, like the natural world, are subject to forces beyond our control, and communication can be fraught and unreliable. We hold onto the things we cherish even as they slip away from us.
Sorrow says "believe me, you can climb into my trees"
We know it's harder to get down each time we do
We know that indulging in negative feelings can be addictive and hard to escape from.
Let's say it like the sunrise talking to the fog
We're both listening for music by a river after dark
And every space we're making as we pull ourselves apart
But it's hard to find
Despite our difficulties, we still strive to connect with something beautiful and meaningful, but our efforts to do so often leave us feeling more isolated and disconnected.
Sorrow says "believe me, you can beat into my breast"
And all our bandages and bruises know it's true
Sometimes we feel as though we are caught in a cycle of pain and suffering, unable to break free from the grasp of negative emotions.
Let's say it to the sunrise shaking us awake
We're both reaching out for love, outside wanting in
To a room that's made of moonlight and the walls are warm as skin
Where our memories of singing fill the air behind our heads
And our meadow bugs are living for the only flowers left
Where our burns return their fire and the cold can have our clothes
Where our dying deer is folded on the soft side of the road
Where the wind is our direction and the waves say "come along"
Where the faces of our family and friends go on and on
But it's hard to find
Despite our struggles, we continue to dream of a better life filled with love, beauty, and connection. We long for a place where we can find peace and comfort among those we love, but it seems beyond our grasp.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Samuel Ervin Beam
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind