Jezebel

Iron & Wine is the singer/songwriter Sam Beam. In this song he sings about being in love with a "bad girl." He knows she is bad for him and people do not like her, but he doesn't care.

In the Bible, Jezebel, a queen married to King Ahab, falsely accuses people of blasphemy and treason and has them stoned to death. She causes tons of problems for Israel (hence the lyric, "She was born to be the woman we could blame") and a revolt is formed to overthrow the house of King Ahab. Jezebel is thrown out the window by her bedmaids. A man named Jehu then rides down to Jezebel and stomps her into the pavement with a horse leaving nothing left but her skull, hands and feet. Jehu says a pack of dogs came and ate her fulfilling the prophet Elijah's claim that "the dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel."

Beam could be using Jezebel's story in reference to another misunderstood woman, or it could just be for misunderstood woman in general. Perhaps he doesn't buy into the biblical notion that she is as villainous as portrayed and that she is just misunderstood. The song is painting her as more of a hero than someone deserving of such actions.