As well as Smith, around 23 musicians were part of the Cardiacs over the years, including Smith's brother, Jim, and multi-instrumentalist, Sarah Cutts, who married Tim Smith in 1983.
Their music combined the excitement and energy of punk with the intricacies and technical cleverness of early British progressive rock, a combination sometimes referred to as pronk, although frontman Smith disavowed this classification.
Cardiacs released eight studio albums plus a number of live albums, compilation albums and singles between 1980 and 2007, and are best known for the 1988 minor hit single "Is This the Life?" They are also noted for attracting strongly diverse responses: they have remained one of Britain's leading cult rock bands during their four-decade-spanning career, but have also attracted virulent critical attack (including a lengthy editorial ban from the British music magazine New Musical Express).
On the 30th June 1990, Cardiacs played at Salisbury Arts Centre (a former church). The show was recorded and initially the video of it was released on VHS tape under the name "All That Glitters Is A Mare's Nest". The video helped Cardiacs achieve a cult following, with pirated copies of the video, being highly sought after. The audio from the show was released on CD in 1995.
The band was on hiatus following the 2008 hospitalisation of Tim Smith after a heart attack and series of strokes which affected his speech and movement.
Commenting on his condition, in 2017, Smith wrote: “Imagine if you were wearing a skintight bodysuit made of fishnet all around you, with electrical pulses going all the time. This is what my body feels like unless I fall asleep.”
In 2018, fundraising was set up for Tim Smith, which included the comment “This condition has affected Tim’s movement, his dexterity, his ability to speak, and it has added painful muscle tone and spasms that are a permanent feature of his life these days.”
On Tuesday 21st July 2020, at around 10.30 pm, Tim Smith passed away at his home, as a result of a heart attack.
Cardiacs final album, "LSD" remained unfinished at the time of Tim Smith's death. At the time of his death, Cardiacs still remained a cult following, their recordings were not, for example, available on Spotify. For many years there were few new copies of Cardiacs albums in circulation. Later on, re-releases became available on CD and then vinyl.
Dirty Boy
Cardiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Squeezed the lids and down the grog into hole
He skip with cow eyed smile to the blissful
Into craggy dress and we will we praise him
We will praise him off his pins
Clear him of all sins
Oh my! we sang with strength to carry on
Encouraged him to sing along
Stay alive to live or without
And he is down all over and out
Watch us hang on shoulders as tall as gold as
Feely hand and finger around all we
And look to see if we care if he is heaven sent or
Hell bent but we will praise him
We will praise him all away
Praise him all away
My arms chancing and you will no way
Live long enough to repay me
I praise you anyway always
Wipes last with brown and pale
Dirty boy he gone all stale
And down the stair and hallway crawling
And pig and toast and kitchen brawling
Night-time days are all weekless
Alarm charm, he's all up and dressed
He dirty boy, he bathroom dances
And check his jam and breathe on glasses
Spiny grip brings all off 'Mr. Regal Jelly' in hand
Warm feel and suck regal man suck bland
Suck bland away and he a sleepy cow-eyed dog
He treading soft sand
Kiss and stroke and praise him
Stroke and praise him
All is worth a kiss
Not how to cleanse
And fowl preserver of sick somehow don't worry now
Hold his mouth and stop him breathing
Over and out
The lyrics of Cardiacs' song "Dirty Boy" are notoriously difficult to interpret, as the band's eccentric and surreal style makes it hard to discern a coherent narrative. However, some common themes can be identified, such as manipulation, control, and abuse of power.
The song seems to depict a group of people who have taken control of a vulnerable individual, possibly through some kind of mind control or brainwashing technique ("We cut all his eyes we did / Squeezed the lids and down the grog into hole"). They manipulate him into believing that they are his saviors and that he should trust them completely ("Clear him of all sins / Oh my! we sang with strength to carry on / Encouraged him to sing along"). The use of animal and food imagery ("cow eyed smile," "pig and toast," "fowl preserver of sick") suggests that the person is being treated like an object rather than a human being.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes increasingly deranged and violent, suggesting that their intentions were never benevolent ("Hold his mouth and stop him breathing / Over and out"). The use of repetition and distorted language ("And he is down all over and out," "Stroke and praise him / All is worth a kiss / Not how to cleanse") further emphasizes the song's surreal and disturbing atmosphere.
Overall, "Dirty Boy" is a challenging and unsettling piece of music that invites multiple readings and interpretations. Its ambiguous and fragmented lyrics, combined with Cardiacs' eclectic musical style, make it a prime example of the band's avant-garde approach to songwriting.
Line by Line Meaning
We cut all his eyes we did
We blinded him completely
Squeezed the lids and down the grog into hole
We held him down while pouring alcohol into his empty eye sockets
He skip with cow eyed smile to the blissful
He, with his vacant expression, willingly went along with us to the place of pleasure
Into craggy dress and we will we praise him
We will dress him up in our unconventional style and sing his praises
We will praise him off his pins
We will admire him until he's dizzy with delight
Clear him of all sins
We will absolve him of any wrongdoing
Oh my! we sang with strength to carry on
We belted out our song with vigor and enthusiasm
Encouraged him to sing along
We urged him to join in our revelry
We sang of all the world and praised him hooray!
We sang of the wonders of the world and celebrated him with cheers of hooray!
Stay alive to live or without
Stay alive either way
And he is down all over and out
And he has fallen and is completely defeated
Watch us hang on shoulders as tall as gold as
Watch us hang around like a valuable accessory
Feely hand and finger around all we
Touching and feeling each other
And look to see if we care if he is heaven sent or
And we scrutinize if we care if he is divine or not
Hell bent but we will praise him
Even if he's not divine, we will still worship him
We will praise him all away
We will continue to worship him
Praise him all away
Worship him until the end
My arms chancing and you will no way
I am risking everything and you can't stop me
Live long enough to repay me
You can't repay me even if you live a long time
I praise you anyway always
But I will always worship you
Wipes last with brown and pale
He wipes himself with dirty brown rags
Dirty boy he gone all stale
The dirty boy has become disgustingly smelly
And down the stair and hallway crawling
He crawls down the stairs and through the hallway
And pig and toast and kitchen brawling
He goes into the kitchen and makes a mess while cooking bacon and toast
Night-time days are all weekless
The days and nights blend together endlessly
Alarm charm, he's all up and dressed
He wakes up and immediately dresses without any need for an alarm
He dirty boy, he bathroom dances
The dirty boy dances around the bathroom
And check his jam and breathe on glasses
He checks his jar of jam and breathes on the glasses
Spiny grip brings all off 'Mr. Regal Jelly' in hand
His rough hands grip everything including his jar of jelly
Warm feel and suck regal man suck bland
He feels warmth and sucks on the jelly
Suck bland away and he a sleepy cow-eyed dog
As he sucks, his blandness fades and he becomes a sleepy and passive dog
He treading soft sand
He walks with soft and delicate steps
Kiss and stroke and praise him
We kiss, stroke, and praise him
Stroke and praise him
We continue to shower him with affection
All is worth a kiss
He is so deserving of love and affection, even a kiss
Not how to cleanse
We don't understand how to purify or clean him
And fowl preserver of sick somehow don't worry now
We, who preserve sickness, don't worry now
Hold his mouth and stop him breathing
We hold him down, covering his mouth and nose, preventing him from breathing
Over and out
It's over, the end.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Vivalaleta Godfrey
[Verse 1]
We cut all his eyes we did
Squeezed the lids and down the grog into hole
He skip with cow eyed smile to the blissful
Into craggy dress and we will praise him him
We will praise him off his pins
Clear him of all sins
Oh my! We sang with strength to carry on
Encouraged him to sing along
We sang of all the world and praised him HOORAY!
[Chorus 1]
Stay alive to live or without
And he is down all over and out
[Verse 2]
Watch us hang on shoulders as tall as gold as
Feely hand and finger around all we
And look to see if we care if he is heaven sent or
Hell bent but we will praise him him
We will praise him all away
Praise him all away
My arms chancing and you will no way
Live long enough to repay me
I praise you anyway always
kohlemainen
The good news : still, to this very day, people are discovering Cardiacs for the first time in their lives. Hooray.
kohlemainen
@FAST N BULBOUS Fast 'n bulbous!
FAST N BULBOUS
Your comment has 666 likes today.
Poppyscaps
I discovered them 2 months ago and my life is forever changed
James Mulvale
That's me today!
Harry Balzac
Happened to me yesterday. Mind is quite blown.
Pluckin' A
Rest in peace Tim Smith. An all-time musical hero.
We will praise him.
thriddoctor
A lost genius.
Rufus
rip Tim
Adam Stoneley
Well, I'm not often moved enough to comment on anything on the internet, but I have to say this simply blows me away - as a seasoned player, I have to say this is one of the most awesome and imaginative pieces of music I've ever heard, in any era and within any genre. Budding musicians take note - this is special.