Songs for Ships and Irons

Songs for Ships and Irons is a compilation album by the band Cardiacs.

Source material

Songs for Ships and Irons combines the whole of the Big Ship mini-album, the whole of the "There's Too Many Irons In The Fire" 12-inch single and the B-side of the "Susannah's Still Alive" 12-inch single. It also includes a bonus song called "Everything is Easy," a longstanding live favorite not previously released as a studio recording. Some of the quiet talking in between tracks from the original Big Ship mini-album differs from the original release in having been edited/lowered in volume.

As of 2007, the album was out of print.

Cut-up lyrics

Several songs on the album display Tim Smith's use of the cut-up lyrical technique. "Blind in Safety and Leafy Iin Love" draws on the work of the nineteenth-century Irish poet George Darley.

Track listing

1. "Big Ship"
2. "Tarred And Feathered"
3. "Burn Your House Brown"
4. "Stoneage Dinosaurs"
5. "Plane Plane Against The Grain"
6. "Everything Is Easy!"
7. "There's Too Many Irons In The Fire"
8. "All Spectacular"
9. "Blind In Safety And Leafy In Love"
10. "Loosefish Scapegrace"
11. "All His Geese Are Swans!"

Lineup

Tim Smith - Guitar + Vocals
Jim Smith - Bass
Sarah Smith - Sax
William.D.Drake - Keyboards
Dominic Luckman - Drums
Tim Quy - Percussion