I've been a little obsessed with this song for quite a while. I head about it from a long time friend, she claimed it was her favorite song of all time. This was long before I knew anything about
Iron & Wine. I actually thought Iron & Wine was a little to slow for me and often a bit to sentimental. However as I grew up maturity wise, I started listening to more and more of them. I think they are a taste that grows on you.
The song is
"Naked As We Came." I think it is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. The guitar sounds a little more complex than it is but it comes off sounding like an instant folk classic, it just sticks with you. However the guitar is far from the highlight of the song. The absolute highlight is
Samuel Beam's vocals. He is probably in my top ten favorite male vocalists, up there with
Eddie Vedder (he is amazing, say otherwise, I dare you).
His voice in this song is amazing. It transcends most things that I listen to (as much as I love
Modest Mouse, Isaac Brock is
not an singer at his core). Listening to
Beam is almost a religious experience. Furthermore, there is a very faint female vocalist on the track that makes this song all the more better. Her voice perfectly complements
Beam's (although, her name completely eludes me). Even better than the vocals are the lyrics that accompany them.
Beam is a genius when it comes to lyricism (see:
"Love Vigilantes"). How could you not love a lyric like this "She says if I leave before you darling Don't you waste me in the groundI lay smiling like our sleeping children One of us will die inside these arms,"
Beam's lyrics are minimalist, but perfect in their construction. I cannot say enough good things about this song.
Please listen to this song, and then listen to it a second time. I guarentee this will be one of the best songs you ever listen to...it is
that good. I am not joking.
"Naked As We Came" by Iron & Wine from Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)-S
