"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Tree by the River" by Iron & Wine. Modest rise and fall. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: nostalgic, reflective, warm. Visual style: contemporary editorial aesthetic. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
Easy, low-key calm, right in the middle of 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for focus.
110
BPM
Tree by the River by Iron & Wine is 110 BPM — Moderato (moderate).
Half-time 55 BPM · Double-time 220 BPM · released 2011
Fan image for "Tree by the River"
An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.
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Song DNA
Notes: Gentle folk arrangement with melodic whispering vocals, prominent electric guitar solo, and subtle percussion creates a warm, nostalgic atmosphere without harsh or abrasive elements. Smooth transitions and predictable structure make it easy on the senses.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: anxiety relief deep listening relaxation
Nostalgic folk-rock love song recalling a shared teenage memory by a river tree, featuring Sam Beam's poetic lyrics and a shift to louder, more produced sound with electric guitar.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: nostalgic, reflective, warm
Traditions: folk, indie folk
At a glance
"Tree by the River" by Iron & Wine
110 BPM, dynamic range 5/10, layered texture, soft vocals. Sits in the middle band — neither built for stillness nor pitched at workout intensity. Whether it works for a given moment depends more on mood and lyrical content than on the acoustic profile. The full sensory breakdown follows.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 5/10 is within the normal pop-mix band. There is variation between verse and chorus, but it's the kind of variation most listeners encounter routinely.
Sudden changes: mild. There are one or two transitions worth knowing about, though they're musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.
Predictability is high — the song telegraphs what it will do next. A sensory-sensitive listener can usually guess where it's going without close attention.
Vocal style: soft vocals.
Where this sits in Iron & Wine's catalog
We have 17 songs from Iron & Wine in the library. Of those, 12 are rated Safe, 5 Moderate, and 0 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 5/10 sits above the artist average of 3.9, making it the #5 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
2011 context
Released in 2011. We have 373 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.4/10. This track is quieter / less dynamic than the year average. Explore more from the 2010s.
Explore by mood and tradition
Guides that may help
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive li…
How fast is "Tree by the River"?
110 BPM — Upbeat (dance-pop / running warm-up)
For running
Too slow for most running; good for warm-up walks or cool-down.
For workouts
Steady cardio, power walking, light weights.
For daily life
Cooking, casual listening, cleaning, dinner music.
Browse more songs at 110 BPM.
When "Tree by the River" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
~
Focus / studying
Maybe — fine for routine work, but the mid-song changes may pull attention during deep focus.
~
Running / workout
Maybe — at 110 BPM this is more warm-up or cool-down pace than peak-effort running.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
~
Emotional release / catharsis
Not really — it's pleasant but doesn't hit hard enough for cathartic listening.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm
Jazz for Anxiety Relief: Which Subgenres Help and Which Overwhelm — A guide for sensory-sensitive listeners on musiciwant.com
Every Big Thief album ranked by emotional excavation
From Masterpiece to Dragon New Warm Mountain — every Big Thief album rated by how deep it digs into your nervous system, plus where Adrianne…
PJ Harvey's discography ranked by emotional pressure
Five PJ Harvey albums stacked by how hard they press on your nervous system — from the warmest entry point to the heaviest, with a listening…
Why this rating
We rate this song Safe because its dynamic range stays within our low-variance band, there are no unsignaled changes, and the texture and vocal style are both in the low-fatigue range. Our methodology uses an AND rule for Safe — a song has to clear every dimension to earn the rating.
This song in the Music Studio
33/100 intensity
See how “Tree by the River” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
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Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-14. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
By the numbers: how this song compares
Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.
Where it sits in 19,000 songs
On our 19k-song scale this lands in the middle band — more energetic than 22% of songs, calmer than the other 78%. Its intensity reading of 33/100 comes from a dynamic range of 5/10, layered texture, mild shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 88% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
Out of Control — Lush · 99%Silver — Echo & the Bunnymen · 98%A Movie Script Ending — Death Cab for Cutie · 98%Nothing Natural — Lush · 98%
Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.
What it’s good for
Sleep7/10
Focus10/10
Workout2/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype4/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
2011 in context
The 372 songs we’ve measured from 2011 average a dynamic range of 6.4/10. At 5/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity33
Dynamics44
Tempo39
Surprise25
Density33
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load0
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Tree by the River"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Tree by the River" by Iron & Wine?
"Tree by the River" by Iron & Wine has a tempo of 110 BPM (Moderato (moderate)). At half-time that is 55 BPM, and at double-time 220 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Tree by the River" by Iron & Wine?
"Tree by the River" by Iron & Wine rates as Low-Intensity. Dynamic range 5/10, mild sudden changes, layered texture. Our Low-Intensity rating means no single dimension triggers the higher-intensity thresholds.
How loud is "Tree by the River" — what is its dynamic range?
"Tree by the River" has a dynamic range of 5/10. Within normal pop-mix variation. Movement between verse and chorus but nothing dramatic.
Does "Tree by the River" have sudden or surprising changes?
"Tree by the River" has mild sudden changes — one or two transitions worth knowing about, but they are musically resolved rather than surprise-driven.
What is "Tree by the River" best for?
In our library "Tree by the River" is recommended for: anxiety relief, deep listening, relaxation. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Tree by the River" released?
"Tree by the River" is from 2011, on the album "Kiss Each Other Clean". It appears in our 2010s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Tree by the River"?
We tag "Tree by the River" as nostalgic, reflective, warm. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Tree by the River"?
The vocal style is soft vocals.
Is "Tree by the River" good for running?
Not really — at 110 BPM it's below most running cadences. Better for warm-up, cool-down, or walking. Recreational runners typically step at 140-175 BPM.
Is "Tree by the River" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (5/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Tree by the River" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Tree by the River"?
If you want gentle, low-arousal music, "Tree by the River" is a solid pick — Low-Intensity across every sensory dimension.
Songs with the same DNA
layered texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
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Where to next?
You know how this one feels — now go find the next one.