Claim Your Ghost

Listen while you read: Iron & Wine

Our winter keeps running us down
We wake up with love hanging on
Killers let go, killers let go

Some kids get a handful of rain
Our hope is the desperate die wise
Killers let go, killers let go

Morning falls from a tree and asks for a name
Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is

The garden grows into our street
We're holding the blossoms up high
Killers let go, killers let go

Claim your ghost, know the wine for what it is
There's light holding onto the ground
Our music is clumsy and free
Killers let go, killers let go

Killers let go, our killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go
Our killers let go, killers let go

~  Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)

Iron & Wine's 6th album, Beast Epic, was finally released two days ago, after the teaser "Call It Dreaming" appeared in June. "Claim Your Ghost" is the opener on the album.

I am not a big fan of esoteric lyrics, and I could easily dismiss this song since it seems to fall into that category. But for Sam Beam, I am willing to work a little harder to "get it." His husky voice and gorgeous arrangements compel me. So here goes.

The refrain, killers let go, is jarring in its opposition to the nature-inspired lyrics of the rest of the song. As Bandcamp Daily asks, "Is it a request? A demand? A prayer? All three?" I would say all three. With all the hate and violence that has emerged lately (not that it hasn't always been there), it does seem to be a plea for sanity and peace. Beam has also been known to include Biblical imagery in his lyrics, and it is possible that the references to the (holy) ghost, the wine, and the garden could be intentionally pointing to a need for spiritual intervention in these trying times.

But minus the religion and the rather depressing tone of the lyrics, there is some beauty to be found. Morning falls from a tree and asks for a name calls up the mood of an autumnal chill. There's light holding onto the ground conjures that late day slant of sunlight that comes earlier and earlier as the days shorten. We wake up with love hanging on reminds us that, whatever the season, there are reasons to embrace our being in this world.

Claim your ghost puzzles me. Call back what has died? Acknowledge what you have lost? Decide which departed loved one will become your guide? I'm not sure, and consequently, I don't know what Beam is asking of me. But as he admits, our music is clumsy and free. Just like us.

Killers let go. I think it's just a dream.