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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your sly smile
Iron & Wine Lyrics
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Stillness slides the door and walks inside
Candle on the windowsill
Burnt wickless through our low-lit meal
Heaven only knows the things you hide
In your blue eyes, in your sly smile
Smells strong as the tobacco can
Roll me up a smoke if you don't mind
Touch me like that afternoon
When your friends would all be over soon
And you said, “"what the hell, we'll make the time”"
With your blue eyes, in your sly smile
The lyrics above belong to the song 'Your Sly Smile' by Iron & Wine. The song speaks of a moment shared by two people in an A-frame in the countryside, where they enjoy a quiet and still evening together. The first verse paints a picture of the two of them with the setting sun casting a blue light on their faces, as they sit quietly with a candle burning on the windowsill. The line "Heaven only knows the things you hide" suggests that there is a sense of mystery or secrets contained within the situation.
The second verse speaks of the physicality of the moment, with the scent of tangerines and tobacco adding a sensory element to the scene. The line "Roll me up a smoke if you don't mind" suggests a level of intimacy and comfort between the two. The lyrics "Touch me like that afternoon when your friends would all be over soon, and you said, 'what the hell, we'll make the time'" paints a picture of two people who have stolen a moment away from the world to be together.
Overall, the song depicts a moment of intimacy and tenderness between two people in a quiet and serene setting. It captures a sense of fleeting yet powerful sensations that can exist in a moment shared between two people.
Line by Line Meaning
Blue light setting lotus style in your A-frame in the countryside
You are sitting in your A-frame house in the countryside, surrounded by a peaceful blue light, and you are in a meditative position
Stillness slides the door and walks inside
Silence enters the room
Candle on the windowsill
A candle is lit and placed on the windowsill
Burnt wickless through our low-lit meal
The candle burns without a wick during our dimly lit dinner
Heaven only knows the things you hide
Only heaven knows what secrets you are hiding
In your blue eyes, in your sly smile
I can see the truth in your eyes and smile, even though you may be hiding something
Tangerine on both your hands
You have tangerine juice on both of your hands
Smells strong as the tobacco can
The smell of tangerine is as strong as the smell of tobacco
Roll me up a smoke if you don't mind
Can you please roll me up a cigarette?
Touch me like that afternoon
Touch me like you did that one afternoon when we had a moment of intimacy
When your friends would all be over soon
The memory of that afternoon when we were alone and your friends were coming over shortly
And you said, "what the hell, we'll make the time"
You were willing to take the risk of spending time with me even though your friends were on their way
With your blue eyes, in your sly smile
I can see the same truth in your eyes and smile now, as I did that afternoon
Contributed by Aria K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Daniel Avila
Blue light sittin' lotus-style on your A-frame in the countryside
Stillness slides the door and walks inside
Candle on the windowsill burned wickless through our low-lit meal
Heaven only knows the things you hide
[Chorus]
In your blue eyes
And your sly smile
[Verse 2]
Tangerine on both your hands smells strong as the tobacco can
Roll me up a smoke if you don't mind
Touch me like that afternoon when your friends would all be over soon
And you said, “"What the hell, we'll make the time"
[Chorus]
With your blue eyes
And your sly smile
Noe Tornero
You are an angel, ty.
Laura Yany
This song... My boyfriend has blue eyes and the most mischievous smile. Makes me think of him!
David Lê
I really need a lyric :((