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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The Sun Will Rise
Iron & Wine Lyrics

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What if you were told that the sky would fall tomorrow night
Would you run and hide or go and play?
What if you were told that a boy named Cain was right outside
Would you run and hide or go and play?
A smile will bring a smile, a pail filled with rain
Your mothers milk will dry, the sun will rise again
What if you were told that your lover's hands were dead and cold
Would you run and hide or go and play?

And what if you were told the only point to life is to get old

Would you run and hide or go and play?
The sun will rise again and again and again

Overall Meaning

"The Sun Will Rise" is a song by Iron & Wine that explores the fear of the unknown and the inevitability of death. The lyrics ask the listener a series of hypothetical questions, each one more daunting than the last. If you were told that the sky would fall, would you hide or play? If you were faced with death or old age, would you give up or find joy in life's simple pleasures?

The song urges the listener to take comfort in the fact that no matter how hopeless things may seem, the sun will always rise again. The imagery of the smile, the rain, and the mother's milk drying all evoke powerful emotions and suggest that life is cyclical, with ups and downs that are a natural part of the human experience. The final refrain of "the sun will rise again and again and again" reinforces this message of hope and renewal.

Overall, "The Sun Will Rise" is a poignant and introspective song that encourages listeners to embrace life despite its difficulties. It speaks to the universal human experience of mortality and the need to find meaning and purpose in our brief time on earth.

Line by Line Meaning

What if you were told that the sky would fall tomorrow night
If you were given a warning that something catastrophic may occur, how would you react?

Would you run and hide or go and play?
Would you wallow in fear or continue to live in the moment?

What if you were told that a boy named Cain was right outside
If someone close to you was in danger or if danger was nearby, how would you react?

A smile will bring a smile, a pail filled with rain
A small act can lead to a big impact, spreading joy and positivity

Your mothers milk will dry, the sun will rise again
Change is inevitable and while certain things must come to an end, the future holds new opportunities and hope

What if you were told that your lover's hands were dead and cold
If the person you love were to suddenly pass away, how would you cope?

And what if you were told the only point to life is to get old
Some argue that the purpose of life is solely to live a long life, but is that truly fulfilling?

The sun will rise again and again and again
No matter what happens, life will continue moving forward

Contributed by Sophie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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