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.
It
Cardiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And boy get shot into the wilderness
Moving like a worms hero
Looks both ways and goes
Gives birth in his throat
Pin legs make his torso leak
Air her holes
Shiny worm to heal her hole
And all the beauty tells him he is worms hero
He is love and hatred
The lyrics to Cardiacs's song "It" create a surreal and cryptic experience for the listener. The first few lines depict a scene where someone advises another person to make themselves presentable before getting shot into the wilderness. The lines "Moving like a worms hero / Looks both ways and goes" indicate that the person is heroic in their actions but is also slimy and burrowing like a worm. The next verse is even more abstract, describing the person's body in unusual terms. The imagery of "Pin legs make his torso leak / Air her holes / Her tiny sides going in and out / Shiny worm to heal her hole" creates a picture of a body that is both fragile and constantly changing.
The final lines of the song add to the complexity of the lyrics, with the statement "And all the beauty tells him he is worms hero / He is love and hatred." It is unclear who or what is telling the person that they are a hero, and the conflicting emotions of love and hatred make the meaning even more elusive. Overall, the lyrics of "It" challenge the listener to uncover their own interpretation and meaning, as the images and metaphors do not easily fit into a cohesive narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
Make eyes pretty wear clean dress
Prepare yourself nicely, put on clean clothing
And boy get shot into the wilderness
The subject is forced to face the wild, untamed parts of themselves
Moving like a worms hero
Subject is acting like a hero, but with the humble nature of a worm
Looks both ways and goes
Subject is cautious but still moves forward
Gives birth in his throat
The subject feels something very deep and personal coming to fruition
Pin legs make his torso leak
Subject's movements are weak and uncoordinated
Air her holes
Subject is trying to mend something that is broken
Her tiny sides going in and out
The subject is watching something very small and vulnerable breathe
Shiny worm to heal her hole
The subject is humble but working to provide help and healing
And all the beauty tells him he is worms hero
Despite feeling insignificant, the subject knows they are capable of small but powerful things
He is love and hatred
The subject is complex and possesses both positive and negative traits
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Milan B
Had not heard of them until 6 weeks ago....I've not heard much music that reaches me on the physical and intellectual level in this depth, but Cardiacs do exactly this.
Stephen Dallison
Addictive class
Unwelcome Human
@CaJoel Not in this league :D Awesomeness through and through!
CaJoel
Same. I discovered them about 3 months ago and it makes me wonder if there are any other hidden gems like cardiacs waiting to be discovered
Darren Willetts
Why just 3 comments? The cardiacs were amazing!!
Oscar Hunt Productions
I'm here because all of Cardiacs was removed from Spotify, amazing music.
horizon 1337
Excellent Composition.
lapse evident
❤️❤️❤️