Until today, I’d never used the “repeat” function on my iPod.
I never had a use for it. In fact, I wasn’t even sure it existed, and actually had to look for it because there was a song that I wanted to keep on playing in a loop. I wanted this song to provide my soundtrack to and from work and basically establish my rhythm for the day.
Usually I’m listening to a playlist or an album, and generally I don’t let them play out. If it’s a playlist, it’s songs that I want to hear pretty much equally, and if it’s an album, I’m probably trying to digest it.
But when I first heard “The Trapeze Swinger” a little over 24 hours ago, I was smitten. So much so that I’ve already listened to it 14 times, and it’s a song that clocks in at over nine minutes long.
I mean, I was already a fan of Iron & Wine. “Boy With a Coin” really struck a cord with me, and I promptly put it on mixes for friends, subsequently making them fans of Iron & Wine. In fact, Iron & Wine was supposed to be one of the artists I was going to really dive into this year. And I really didn’t think that I’d find another song by Sam Beam that would slay me like “Boy With a Coin”.
But that song’s got nothing on “The Trapeze Swinger”. There’s absolutely nothing that I don’t love about the song.
I love how it’s layered yet remains a relatively simple composition; I love the story that he’s telling in his trademarked hushed vocals; I love the emotional punch of the song; I love the loop. I even love the 9:31 length.
Wait, let me really crystallize how much I love this song—I really want to watch In Good Company because the song is on the soundtrack and I’m curious how it’s used in the movie. That’s how much I’m feeling this song right now.
The only downside to my infatuation with “The Trapeze Swinger” is that I’m tempted to splurge on the entire Iron & Wine catalogue. I’m actually going to have some extra money next week, and originally I’d intended to pick up some of this year’s releases that I had let pass me by. But at this very moment, I can’t get enough Iron & Wine in my life.
The song is really so beautiful that it’s inspiring. I get caught up in the story and the simple flourishes that Sam puts in his lyrics; he makes it seem so effortless. It’s also got me reminiscing and thinking about how people think of me after we’ve parted.
And that’s why I love music, because once in a while you hear a song that’s so powerful and affects you so much that it almost warps your reality. When a song becomes your soundtrack or theme, it’s like nothing else. It doesn’t happen all that often, but when it does it almost makes the world clearer.
Anyway, it’s a really good song, and it’s what I’m digging right now.
