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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Waitin' for a Superman
Iron & Wine Lyrics
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But I didn't need you to reply
Is it getting heavy?
But then I realize
Is it getting heavy?
Well, I thought it was already as heavy as can be
Is it overwhelming
It's a good time for Superman
To lift the sun into the sky
'Cause it's getting heavy
Hell I thought it was already as heavy as can be
Tell everybody waitin' for Superman
That they should try to hold on best they can
He hasn't dropped them, forgot them, or anything
It's just to heavy for Superman to lift
Is it getting heavy?
Hell I thought it was already as heavy as can be
Tell everybody waiting for Superman
That they should try to hold on best they can
He hasn't dropped them, forgot them, or anything
It's just to heavy for Superman to lift
The song "Waitin' for a Superman" by Iron & Wine talks about the overwhelming burdens of life that sometimes seem too heavy to bear. The lyrics question whether the weight of the world is too much for a hero like Superman to carry. The singer poses the question, "Is it getting heavy?" but admits to already feeling like the weight is as heavy as can be.
The song uses Superman as a metaphor for the hope that one day someone will come and lift the heavy weight of the world's problems. However, the singer realizes that even Superman has his limits and cannot bear the weight on his own. The chorus urges those who are waiting for Superman to not give up hope and to hold on as best they can.
Overall, the song is a powerful statement about the struggles of life and the need for hope and perseverance even in the face of overwhelming circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
I asked you a question
I posed a query, but it was not necessary for you to respond
But I didn't need you to reply
I do not require your answer to move forward
Is it getting heavy?
Is the weight becoming too much?
But then I realize
Then I came to the understanding
Well, I thought it was already as heavy as can be
I thought that the weight was already maximal
Is it overwhelming
Does using a crane to crush a fly seem too much?
To use a crane to crush a fly?
To use a machine made for big tasks on a very tiny one?
It's a good time for Superman
It's the appropriate moment for Superman
To lift the sun into the sky
To move a massive object such as the sun
'Cause it's getting heavy
Because the weight is becoming more significant
Hell I thought it was already as heavy as can be
I thought that the weight was already maximal
Tell everybody waitin' for Superman
Inform all those who anticipate Superman's arrival
That they should try to hold on best they can
They need to hold on with all their might
He hasn't dropped them, forgot them, or anything
He hasn't ignored them or let them fall
It's just too heavy for Superman to lift
The weight is too much even for Superman to lift
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL IVINS, STEVEN DROZD, WAYNE COYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind