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

There's Too Many Irons in the Fire

"There's Too Many Irons in the Fire" is the second single by the English rock band Cardiacs, released in September 1987.-Critical reception:In the week of its release, There's Too Many Irons in the Fire was awarded "Single of the Week" in Sounds magazine...

" 12-inch single and the B-side of the "Susannah's Still Alive

Susannah's Still Alive

"Susannah's Still Alive" is a song by the British musician Dave Davies and his group The Kinks. It was one of the few Kinks songs that was written by Davies, the brother of lead songwriter Ray Davies. The single was credited solely to Dave Davies and featured all of The Kinks as his backing band...

" 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

George Darley

George Darley was an Irish poet, novelist, and critic.He was born in Dublin, and educated at Trinity College. Having decided to follow a literary career, in 1820 he went to London, where he published his first poem, Errors of Ecstasie . He also wrote for the London Magazine, under the pseudonym of...

.

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
   There's Too Many Irons in the Fire
   "There's Too Many Irons in the Fire" is the second single by the English rock band Cardiacs, released in September 1987.-Critical reception:In the week of its release, There's Too Many Irons in the Fire was awarded "Single of the Week" in Sounds magazine...
   
   "
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