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.
I'm Eating in Bed
Cardiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Secondly it has the right of way
And something else is missing
Sometimes sorted out
And wrapped up straight away
Nothing by comparison puts thoughts straight in my mind
As I comfort myself with the will to be unkind
Mr Technique's doing well
And he stands around in poses just like this
But when I gets to thinking it seems better
To betray me with a kiss
We will inform you from day to day
Mr Technique's is a much better way
A change in circumstances
Forget responsibilities
And showbiz personalities?
Goes the way of every day
To hell with uncle, I
[Goes the way of every day]
Know I'm wrong
[To hell with uncle, I]
It must be all this eating in bed
Tell me when it's over
[It must be all this]
A spider is crawling up and eating in bed
Catch this, in a minute
No-one can see or say or do
What no-one wants or not to do
It's scary to be that way
To make use of my body
I'll be round with the tarring can
And stand with the standard man
Who paints us inseperable
But should I break my fall?
In every cry of every man
The mind for ??? and it calls my bluff
Goes the way of every day
To hell with uncle, I
[Goes the way of every day]
Know I'm wrong
[To hell with uncle, I]
It must be all this eating in bed
[Know I'm wrong]
Tell me when it's over
[It must be all this eating in bed]
A spider is crawling up and eating in bed
No-one can see or say or do
What no-one wants or not to do
It's scary to be that way
To make use of my body
The woman with the clap
Takes me round to the back
To the man with the crocodile smile
Who scares me to my hands and knees
But should I break my fall?
The lyrics to Cardiacs' song "I'm Eating in Bed" are complex and have a surreal quality to them that makes them open to interpretation. The first verse seems to describe a sense of disorder, with a spanner having the right of way and something missing. The second verse offers a contrast to this chaos, with the singer finding comfort in being unkind. The mention of "Mr. Technique" suggests the idea of conforming to a particular way of doing things, even if it involves betraying oneself.
The third verse mentions a "change in circumstances" and "showbiz personalities", which could suggest the pressures of fame or success. The final verse is perhaps the most mysterious, with references to a "woman with the clap", a man with a "crocodile smile", and the singer being scared to their "hands and knees". The recurring phrase "it must be all this eating in bed" adds to the surreal and dreamlike quality of the lyrics, suggesting that everything is not quite as it seems.
Overall, the song seems to explore themes of chaos, conformity, and the pressures of society, with a touch of surrealism that makes it difficult to pin down.
Line by Line Meaning
Firstly there's a spanner in here
There's a problem in this situation
Secondly it has the right of way
The problem is more significant than anything else
And something else is missing
Something important is absent
Sometimes sorted out
Occasionally, things are resolved
And wrapped up straight away
And resolved immediately
Nothing by comparison puts thoughts straight in my mind
Comparatively, nothing makes me think straight
As I comfort myself with the will to be unkind
Instead, I console myself by being cruel
Goes the way of every day to hell with uncle, I
The situation is becoming like every other day, and I reject it
Mr Technique's doing well
The situation is being handled successfully
And he stands around in poses just like this
Someone is posing and showing off their success
But when I gets to thinking it seems better
However, I think it would be better
To betray me with a kiss
To betray me in a subtle way
We will inform you from day to day
You will be given updates regularly
Mr Technique's is a much better way
The successful method is the preferable one
A change in circumstances
Something has changed
Forget responsibilities
Ignore obligations
And showbiz personalities?
And people associated with the entertainment industry?
Know I'm wrong
I am aware I am mistaken
It must be all this eating in bed
The cause of my mistake may be my habit of eating in bed
Tell me when it's over
Let me know when the situation is resolved
A spider is crawling up and eating in bed
A spider is present in the bed and feeding on something
Catch this, in a minute
Wait a minute, listen to this
No-one can see or say or do
No one can act or say what they want
What no-one wants or not to do
There are things that no one wants to do
It's scary to be that way
It's frightening to be in this situation
To make use of my body
To utilize my physical ability
I'll be round with the tarring can
I will have a container of tar
And stand with the standard man
I will stand with the ordinary person
Who paints us inseparable
Who considers us to be united
But should I break my fall?
However, should I make a mistake?
In every cry of every man
In the expression of every person's pain
The mind for ? and it calls my bluff
Something is in the mind, and it is challenging me
The woman with the clap
The woman with an STD
Takes me round to the back
Leads me to the rear side
To the man with the crocodile smile
To a person with a fake smile
Who scares me to my hands and knees
Who terrifies me completely
Contributed by Christopher M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.