For more than twenty years he has been releasing, to only marginal commercial and critical success, playful and transgressive albums on labels in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Japan. In his lyrics and his other writing he makes seemingly random use of decontextualized pieces of continental (mostly French) philosophy, and has built up a personal world he says is "dominated by values like diversity, orientalism, and a respect for otherness." He is also known in certain circles outside the U.S. as a producer. He is fascinated by identity, Japan, the avant-garde, time travel and sex. Live Momus shows are rare but when he does perform he often sings the crowd favourite 'maf' from the Stars Forever LP.
He wears a patch over his right eye because he lost the use of it after contracting acanthamoeba keratitis from a contact lens case washed with Greek tap water.
Nick Currie currently resides in Osaka, Japan.
Cockle Pickers
Momus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Government requisitions left him with just one mu of land
Not enough to pay for his family's outgoings
It was humiliating
Yu Hui thought of emigrating
(YU HUI) - A man working in a bakery in Britain
Can send enough money home
Abroad I could save each month
More than I make here in a year
(NARRATOR) - And so Yu Hui made a deal with the Snakehead Gang
(NARRATOR & YU HUI) - The wind is strong, the tide is high
In darkness no-one can see the sky
(NARRATOR) - On a forged Korean passport Yu Hui flew from Hong Kong to Europe
He dyed his hair to better resemble the man in the picture
In Paris he tried to find work, but failed
An illegal Chinese with no skills
(YU HUI) - I went sightseeing, called my family
Told them to pay the snakeheads £7,000
This they did, with the help of loans
Secured by relatives and friends
(NARRATOR) - In England Yu Hui thought he would have better luck, a chance to earn more money
He came stowed away in a lorry
Through the channel tunnel
(YU HUI) - I heard that some who do this suffocate
I was afraid
It was hot in the truck
I ate a bar of chocolate
(NARRATOR) - In London he worked in the kitchen of a takeaway
The boss was hard, and the chef, although from Yu Hui's own village
Required £200 to give him the job
(YU HUI) - I slept on a mattress I found on the street
Lived with four others above a takeaway
Had to distribute five hundred leaflets every day
Then work eight to ten hours in the kitchen
For two meals, and low pay
(NARRATOR) - When he heard about the cockling work up north
Yu Hui assumed it could not be worse than life in London
He packed a case and went to Morecambe Bay
(YU HUI) - This work is very hard
It is cold and hurts my back
I live in a room with forty others, we eat only rice
I am depressed
I want to quit, but because I'm illegal
I have no freedom and no choice
(NARRATOR) - Five different Chinese teams, all under the control of a gangmaster
Work different sections of the bay
They work according to the tides, sometimes by day
But mostly at night
In groups of twenty to thirty
(YU HUI) - The English cockling teams felt threatened
Because we sieve the tiddlers out, clean our cockles better
They poured diesel on our catch to warn us
They hate us because we are foreigners
So now we work at night, although it is much more dangerous
(NARRATOR) - They lay the wooden planks on the sand
And shake them to bring the cockles to the surface
Harvest them with rakes, clean them up, and drop them in a sack
(NARRATOR & YU HUI) - The wind is strong, the tide is high
In darkness no-one can see the sea
(YU HUI) - And we knew that the tide was rising
Only when it touched our feet
By that time our only escape was blocked
(YU HUI) - If I die, who will pay off the Snakeheads?
My family will drown in endless tears
They cannot pay, not in fifty years
(NARRATOR) - The hovercraft sent by the lifeguard was beaten back by two metre waves
Twenty bodies were recovered, only one was saved, clinging to Priest Skier
It was not Yu Hui
(NARRATOR & YU HUI) - The wind is strong, the tide is high
In darkness
The song "Cockle Pickers" by Momus is a powerful and heartbreaking ballad depicting the journey of a Chinese immigrant named Yu Hui who leaves his village in Fujian province to seek a better life in the United Kingdom. Yu Hui has limited resources, and the meagre land left after government requisitions is insufficient to sustain his family's needs, so he decides to emigrate. He contacts the Snakehead Gang, who smuggles him into Europe with a forged Korean passport, and he lands in Paris. However, he cannot find work and heads to London to pursue better opportunities. Yu Hui arrives in London and eventually takes on a job in a kitchen of a takeaway, but the low pay and work conditions prove too unbearable. So, he decides to move to Morecambe Bay to work as a cockle picker. The conditions are dismal, and the work is difficult, but the absence of papers and citizenship leaves him with no other choice.
The song vividly captures the pain, hardship and exploitation of immigrants who flee their home countries in search of a better life in foreign lands. Furthermore, Momus's use of vivid description of Yu Hui's journey not only exposes the challenges faced by immigrants in finding work and citizenship abroad but also resonates with the worldwide problem of human trafficking. He highlights the nefarious and exploitative nature of the Snakehead Gang, who use deceit to lure individuals to the UK with the promise of a better life. It further explores the deceitful nature of the UK's economy and society, where immigrants are often at the receiving end of inhumane treatment, low-wage jobs and are forced to live in deplorable conditions.
Line by Line Meaning
Yu Hui came from Yangbian, a village in the north of Fujian, opposite Taiwan
Yu Hui was from a small village in northern Fujian province, situated across from Taiwan
Government requisitions left him with just one mu of land
Due to government seizures, Yu Hui only had a small plot of land
Not enough to pay for his family's outgoings
This small plot of land could not provide enough income to support his family
It was humiliating
This predicament was both frustrating and embarrassing for Yu Hui
Yu Hui thought of emigrating
To improve his family's financial situation, Yu Hui considered moving to another country
A man working in a bakery in Britain
Yu Hui knew of someone who worked in a bakery in the UK
Can send enough money home
This person earned enough to send money back to China to support their family
To build a big six storey mansion in Yangbian
The amount of money sent back was enough to build a large, multi-story house in Yu Hui's hometown
Abroad I could save each month
Yu Hui believed he could earn and save more money abroad
More than I make here in a year
He thought he could earn more in a foreign country than he could in his hometown in a year
And so Yu Hui made a deal with the Snakehead Gang
To help him immigrate, Yu Hui reached out to the Snakehead Gang
The wind is strong, the tide is high
The weather conditions were not ideal for traveling to a new country
In darkness no-one can see the sky
Due to the time of day and other conditions, visibility was low during Yu Hui's illegal journey to Europe
On a forged Korean passport Yu Hui flew from Hong Kong to Europe
Yu Hui traveled to Europe on a fake Korean passport
He dyed his hair to better resemble the man in the picture
To look more like the man on the passport photo, Yu Hui dyed his hair
In Paris he tried to find work, but failed
Yu Hui went to Paris to look for work but was unsuccessful
An illegal Chinese with no skills
Because he was an undocumented Chinese immigrant with no skills, it was difficult for Yu Hui to find employment
I went sightseeing, called my family
Although he had trouble finding work, Yu Hui had some leisure time and used it to explore Paris, and he also contacted his family back in China
Told them to pay the snakeheads £7,000
To pay for his journey and other expenses, Yu Hui asked his family to send £7,000 to the Snakehead Gang
This they did, with the help of loans
With the assistance of borrowed money, Yu Hui's family was able to send the £7,000 to the Snakehead Gang
Secured by relatives and friends
Yu Hui's family obtained these loans from people they knew
In England Yu Hui thought he would have better luck, a chance to earn more money
Yu Hui believed that he would have a better chance of making money in England
He came stowed away in a lorry
To enter England, Yu Hui hid in a lorry
Through the channel tunnel
He went through the Channel Tunnel, which connects England and France
I heard that some who do this suffocate
Yu Hui was aware that other people who traveled in this way had died of suffocation
I was afraid
Despite the dangers, Yu Hui felt he had no other choice and was scared during this part of his journey
It was hot in the truck
During his journey, Yu Hui experienced discomfort due to the high temperature in the lorry
I ate a bar of chocolate
To fight hunger and fatigue, Yu Hui ate a candy bar during the journey
In London he worked in the kitchen of a takeaway
After arriving in London, Yu Hui found work in a takeaway restaurant
The boss was hard, and the chef, although from Yu Hui's own village, required £200 to give him the job
Even though the chef was from Yu Hui's hometown, he still required a significant amount of money to offer Yu Hui a job
I slept on a mattress I found on the street
Yu Hui had to find his own accommodations and slept on a discarded mattress he found on the street
Lived with four others above a takeaway
To save money, Yu Hui lived in a small apartment above the takeaway with four other people
Had to distribute five hundred leaflets every day
As part of his job, Yu Hui was required to hand out hundreds of leaflets every day
Then work eight to ten hours in the kitchen
In addition to distributing leaflets, Yu Hui had to work long hours in the kitchen
For two meals, and low pay
Despite working long hours, Yu Hui was paid very little and only received two meals per day
When he heard about the cockling work up north
Yu Hui learned about a potential job opportunity as a cockle picker in northern England
Yu Hui assumed it could not be worse than life in London
Having a difficult time in London, Yu Hui hoped that cockle picking would be a better job
He packed a case and went to Morecambe Bay
Yu Hui traveled to Morecambe Bay to start his new job
This work is very hard
The job of a cockle picker is extremely difficult
It is cold and hurts my back
The work is physically demanding and causes pain
I live in a room with forty others, we eat only rice
Yu Hui was forced to reside in a cramped room with 40 other individuals and had little variety in his diet
I am depressed
The difficult working and living conditions had a negative impact on Yu Hui's mental health
I want to quit, but because I'm illegal
Because he was an undocumented immigrant, Yu Hui felt he had no choice but to continue working this difficult job
I have no freedom and no choice
Without proper documentation, Yu Hui felt that he had no control over his own life
Five different Chinese teams, all under the control of a gangmaster
The cockle pickers were organized into five distinct teams, each under the control of a gangmaster
Work different sections of the bay
These teams were responsible for working in different areas of Morecambe Bay
They work according to the tides, sometimes by day
Because cockle picking is tide-dependent work, the teams had to adjust their schedules accordingly
But mostly at night
Most of the cockle picking work was performed at night when the tides were low enough
In groups of twenty to thirty
Each of the teams consisted of 20-30 individuals
The English cockling teams felt threatened
Local English cockle pickers felt threatened by the presence of foreign workers
Because we sieve the tiddlers out, clean our cockles better
The Chinese cockle pickers were capable of picking and cleaning their cockles more efficiently
They poured diesel on our catch to warn us
To deter the Chinese cockle pickers, the English teams poured diesel on the Chinese's catch
They hate us because we are foreigners
The English teams had animosity towards the Chinese pickers simply because of their foreign nationality
So now we work at night, although it is much more dangerous
To avoid conflict with the English cockle pickers, the Chinese teams chose to work at night, even though it was riskier
They lay the wooden planks on the sand
The cockle pickers would place wooden planks on top of the sand to create a work surface
And shake them to bring the cockles to the surface
Next, they would shake the planks to make the buried cockles rise to the surface
Harvest them with rakes, clean them up, and drop them in a sack
Then they would use rakes to collect the cockles, clean them, and place them in sacks
And we knew that the tide was rising
The tide started to rise faster than anticipated
Only when it touched our feet
The cockle pickers only realized that the tide was rising once it reached their feet
By that time our only escape was blocked
It was too late for the cockle pickers to leave as the only escape route had already been cut off by the rising tide
If I die, who will pay off the Snakeheads?
Yu Hui was worried about what would happen to his family if he were to die, as they would not be able to pay off the debt owed to the Snakehead Gang
My family will drown in endless tears
Yu Hui's family would be devastated if he were to die in this dangerous job
They cannot pay, not in fifty years
Yu Hui's family would be unable to pay off the debt owed to the Snakehead Gang even over the course of several decades
The hovercraft sent by the lifeguard was beaten back by two metre waves
Despite rescue efforts, the rough waves prevented the hovercraft sent by the lifeguard from reaching the stranded cockle pickers
Twenty bodies were recovered, only one was saved, clinging to Priest Skier
Of the stranded cockle pickers, twenty lost their lives while only one was saved, clinging to Priest Skier
It was not Yu Hui
Unfortunately, Yu Hui was not the one rescued and survived the tragedy
In darkness no-one can see the sea
The darkness of night made it difficult to see the sea and the dangerous conditions that the cockle pickers were working in
Contributed by Madelyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Aldo Charles
on Morality Is Vanity
I’ve been listening to this song last two weeks.