Iron & Wine – Woman King

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  General Comment:Is it weird that the first thing that came into my mind after hearing this song is that it would make a badass campaign song for Hillary Clinton? Hillary 2016 haha

  Flag rosieb333on February 08, 2013   Link

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  General Comment:Maybe it's just because I grew up with Irish folktales, but the second I looked at the lyrics I thought of Macha Mong Ruad. She was the only female high king of Ireland, and the raven/crow mentioned in the first part also reminded me of her because someone else in Irish lore with the name Macha is a goddess, with a sign of her being a raven. She's also associated with war and horses (Sword in hand/Swing at some evil and bleed/Black hoof mare, broken leg/Eye on the shotgun shell). A stretch but also could be valid is that Macha Mong Ruad specifically had vibrant red hair (Under the red sunlight). All of my input could be completely bullshit, but this is what I thought of when I saw the lyrics.

  Flag machamongon December 10, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:Does anyone think of Athalia, the woman-king in 2 Kings? She was a worshipper of Baal and either the daughter, step-daughter, or step-sister of Jezebel (daughter or sister of Ahab) and, unlike Jezebel and any other female during this time, there was a period in which Athaliah herself was the "king" of Judah (with "queen" referring to a submissiveness towards the king).
  
  It doesn't necessarily fit all the modern references in the song (clothesline, lemonade, cigarette ash, etc.) but the line "Someday we may see a Woman-King, sword in hand, swing at some evil and bleed" definitely makes me think of Athaliah's particularly vicious, bloody reign in which she slaughtered all but one of the royal family ("sword in hand"), ultimately being executed quite violently herself ("and bleed").

  Flag LNJon September 24, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:"Black hoof mare, broken leg
  Eye on the shotgun shell"
  
  I actually got chills.

  Flag raineforeston September 08, 2008   Link

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    Ditto. Sam Beam's voice alone gives me chills. This song has nestled in my head almost as profoundly as the recent "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" has. I had that thing on repeat for two weeks nonstop. While the symbolism in that tune may be a little bit clearer -- the loss of innocence, and American Society doing the apathetic tongue-in-cheek "trip down the tubes" -- *this* one song has such an ethereal, almost 'untouchable' vibe going for it. Almost like it's meant to leave you wondering, almost as if Sam wrote it specifically to have a loose end that anyone can interpret in any way they choose. Really diggin' the female motif, however, throughout the whole album. That's a wonderfully interesting concept.
    
    In short, Beam is a genius. I would have never honestly gotten into folk if I hadn't've seen the way the genre of music can be viewed by listening to Iron & Wine.

    Flag CotidianaVilescunton February 23, 2009  
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  General Comment:In the song "God Gave A Stone", there is this line
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  "And God gave a stone but it rolled down the hill
  It’s the shape of His breath, or Her breath if you will"
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  Which makes me think of this song. Maybe it's about people seeing the king (God) as a woman?

  Flag HiQKid2on August 24, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:there was only one malkha (hebrew- woman king or monarch) in all of jewish history; shlomtzion hamalkha, also called salome alexandria. she ruled after the death of her second husband, alexander yannai, because her sons were unfit to rule at the time. shlomtzion was a hasmonean queen of israel/judea who brought peace and prosperity to her kingdom for a short time. the hasmonean period was a troubled time for jews, and while she was a bright spot in history, her sons were never nearly such adept politicians and leaders.

  Flag lightningrodon November 09, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:I agree with amill that it is a woman figure, but I think it is one personal to the author. I'm thinking his mother and, I know, she may not be a famous spiritual figure, but she could've been a spiritual figure to him. Each verse seems to tell us of a scenes from the South, or at least the country. I think Sam often uses pictures of his childhood in his work. Family is obviously important, he performs a large majority of his songs with his sister.

  Flag _thelostpoeton August 16, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:to me, i take it to be the embodiment of all of the female figures mentioned throughout the ep. (and history?) and being about a higher female power (higher than it is placed now) whether that be worldly or greater...

  Flag Craigrrron May 04, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:This has such a southern vibe to it. Makes me think of Sojourner Truth.

  Flag Hyperboleon January 18, 2007   Link

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  General Comment:This is an awsome with woman's rights undertones and blahdeeblah. However, I'm almost certain that this song is talking about a specific spiritural figure. If you haven't noticed, Wikipedia says that each song on the Woman King EP features a female figure, like Jezebel etc.

  Flag amillon December 19, 2006   Link

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