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.
Odd Even
Cardiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No moist just dry fire
Midas feet were ruined
Merry Jesus brew in sent her soul by wire
One hand in mouth she dug into the sandy soil
All gently down she goes
And you were all fine dry worlds
All the wells are useless
And the thirsty omens don't smile on your kind
Distress is a pest
Gratified with the smallest things it make and find
Cried with her apron all over her head
She gone all gently down as always
And we can't just drive away in a nice car
A nice car
Came here all thirsty and drank from my hands
All gone
Loudly and long
Drank loudly and long
Can't just drive away in a nice car
A nice car
The song "Odd Even" by Cardiacs appears to be a reflection on death, loss, and despair. The lines "Died in earth did brother by the side of sister / No moist just dry fire" paint a picture of a tragic event where the brother and sister die together in a grisly way. The lack of moisture and the presence of dry fire perhaps signify the finality and harshness of their deaths. The song goes on to describe the aftermath of this event, where the world seems to have lost its vibrancy and life. The lines "All the wells are useless / And the thirsty omens don't smile on your kind" suggest that even the basic necessities of life, like water from wells, are hard to come by, and the natural world seems to be indifferent to the suffering of humans.
The lines "Distress is a pest / Gratified with the smallest things it make and find" seem to suggest that distress (perhaps referring to sorrow or grief) is like a pest that clings to people and follows them wherever they go. Despite this, people still try to find some satisfaction or meaning in small things. The later lines "Cried with her apron all over her head / She gone all gently down as always" portray a sense of resignation to the inevitability of death and loss. The final lines "Came here all thirsty and drank from my hands / All gone / Loudly and long / Drank loudly and long" seem to suggest that the singer is trying to find some solace in offering water to someone who is thirsty, but ultimately, everything seems to be fleeting and temporary.
Line by Line Meaning
Died in earth did brother by the side of sister
The brother and sister died together and were buried in the ground
No moist just dry fire
The body of the deceased was not moist, but burnt to ashes
Midas feet were ruined
The feet of the deceased were unable to turn anything into gold anymore
Merry Jesus brew in sent her soul by wire
The deceased was sent to heaven by divine intervention
One hand in mouth she dug into the sandy soil
The person dug into the soil with one hand while holding something else in their mouth
All gently down she goes
The person descended into the soil slowly and softly
And you were all fine dry worlds
The person was surrounded by a desolate and dry environment
All the wells are useless
There is no water source available
And the thirsty omens don't smile on your kind
The person is not favored by good fortune or luck
Distress is a pest
Pain and suffering is like a persistent infestation
Gratified with the smallest things it make and find
Finding joy in even the smallest of things
Cried with her apron all over her head
The person cried with their face covered by their apron
She gone all gently down as always
The person passed away peacefully
And we can't just drive away in a nice car
Escaping from reality is not as easy as simply driving away in a fancy car
Came here all thirsty and drank from my hands
The person arrived thirsty and drank water from someone's hands
All gone
The water is now all consumed
Loudly and long
Drinking the water with audible gulps
Drank loudly and long
Continued drinking for a significant time
Can't just drive away in a nice car
The person is stuck in their current situation, unable to escape
A nice car
The idea of having a luxurious mode of transportation
Contributed by Jeremiah D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Fernando Algarra
Rest In Peace beautiful man!
ベホイミ
i agree!
Sieg Howdy
This song is the musical equivalent of what looking up at a starry night sky feels like. I will never not miss Tim.
harrymapex
I first heard "Sing to God" and thought this song wasn't at all bad, but not up to the standard of "Fiery God hand" or "Dirty Boy". However....I've given this a lot more listens and now appreciate what a wonderful work this is.
Thank you Tim, you genius.
CaJoel
I love how even this song which is tamer compared to the others still has that signature cardiacs feel in the keyboard solo
Carl2791
What a brilliant song !!!
disco quebrado
This sounds so melancholy with Tim being gone. RIP,
chathammond
It's so different to the rest of the album. This song reminds me of the band Love.
CrankyRay
You can see how they influenced Blur.
Alex Alex
RIP x