Poetry by Iron and Wine

Poetry is an arrangement of words that makes a person think about something in a new way, or uses figurative language to tell some sort of story. In my opinion, “Upward Over The Mountain” is an extremely poetic song by Iron and Wine, on their album “The Creek Drank the Cradle.” Iron and Wine is an American, folk singer song-writer who tends to tell a story through each of his songs.

I interpret the song “Upwards Over The Mountain” as a story in which the son is apologizing to his mother for all his wrongdoings and all she’s had to go through. The son is saying that he’s done with all of the bad things and there’s hope for his future, so his mother should no longer worry. Iron and Wine conveys this story in such a beautiful way, utilizing figurative language.

The main simile in the song is when he says:

                          So may the sunrise bring hope where it once was forgotten
                          Sons are like birds flying upwards over the mountain

The speaker is the son and he is apologizing to his mother. He makes a generalization that sons feel the need to take the most difficult path in life and face all the obstacles, and go “upwards over the mountain” instead of going an easier route.

Later on he says:

                          Mother I made it up from the bruise on the floor of this prison
                          Mother I lost all of the fear of the Lord I was given

Here, he most likely uses the metaphor of prison to encompass all of his big mistakes and sins. He says along his way he ignored the religion that she raised him with. These lines really describe the extent to which he went wrong and how he felt he betrayed his mother. He was at such a low point in life, but he has come to the point where he has matured and will improve himself, making it “over the mountain.”

At the end the son says:

                         Mother remember the night that the dog had her pups in the pantry
                         Blood on the floor and the fleas on their paws
                         And you cried 'til the morning

 These lyrics seem to make a connection, suggesting that the mother/son relationship as a necessary part of the cycle of life. The birth of the puppies is both beautiful and painful, just like the relationship between the mother and her son. The imagery really enhances the depth of the emotion in the story.

Iron and Wine is incredibly successful in his use of multi-dimensional language, which creates poetry in his songs.