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.
There’s Too Many Irons in the Fire
Cardiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She breathed them in they nested in her ears
Life is toying with bringing back again
The tool that planes against the grain
Now too much has passed but never mind
Because everything turns out nicely in the summer time
There's too many Irons in the fire
And iron sadness iron pain
There's too many irons to regret
Too many irons to forget that there's
Too many irons in the fire
Too many Irons in the fire
You broke me alive
How can you do this there's only one of me
There's too many irons in the fire
There's iron guilt and iron waste
Of iron love for iron hate
There's too many irons in the fire
Too many irons in the fire
There's too many irons in the fire
Too many irons in the fire
There's too many irons in the fire
Too many irons in the fire
There's
But everything turns out nicely in the summertime
The lyrics of Cardiacs’ song There’s Too Many Irons in the Fire paint an image of a woman who has lived among the dangers and chaos of machinery, inhaling the fumes and becoming one with the tools that shape and carve. The lyrics are poetic and surrealist in nature, with vivid imagery that suggests a kind of inner turmoil, and yet the tone remains hopeful. Even though too much has passed, there is a sense that everything will turn out nicely in the summertime.
The phrase “too many irons in the fire” suggests the idea of an overwhelming amount of things going on, and the subsequent loss and pain that can come from trying to manage it all. The repetition of this phrase throughout the song emphasizes this theme, as does the repetition of the word “iron,” which can be seen as a metaphor for the various burdens and responsibilities that weigh people down.
The final lines of the song, “But everything turns out nicely in the summertime,” suggest a glimmer of hope and a belief in the cyclical nature of life. While there may be moments of overwhelming chaos and stress, the seasons will turn and things will eventually settle into a more peaceful state.
Line by Line Meaning
She lived among hubbering flights and sparks
She resided amidst a flurry of activity and energy
She breathed them in they nested in her ears
She absorbed it all, letting it take root in her mind
Life is toying with bringing back again
Life may revisit past experiences
The tool that planes against the grain
A tool that challenges the status quo
Now too much has passed but never mind
Despite time having passed, it's still not worth dwelling on
Because everything turns out nicely in the summer time
Things tend to work out favorably during the summer season
There's too many Irons in the fire
There are too many things going on at once
There's iron loss from iron gain
There are trade-offs that come with progress
And iron sadness iron pain
There is considerable emotional distress
There's too many irons to regret
There are too many decisions that may lead to regrets
Too many irons to forget that there's
Too many events to forget that there's
You broke me alive
You shattered me completely
How can you do this there's only one of me
How could you subject me to this torment when I'm the only one?
There's iron guilt and iron waste
There is an overwhelming sense of guilt and waste
Of iron love for iron hate
A love-hate relationship made of intense emotions
Too many irons in the fire
There are too many pressing issues
There's too many irons in the fire
There is an overwhelming load of tasks and concerns
There's too many irons in the fire
There are too many things going on at the same time
Too many irons in the fire
There are too many concerns at the moment
But everything turns out nicely in the summertime
In the end, things are going to be okay despite the circumstances
Contributed by Avery H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.