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.
Don't leave
Momus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you can't forgive
Believe, just to live
You must forget
Forget the times
You misunderstand
Let them slip through your hand
With the sand of time
When 'perhaps' has died
At the hands of 'why'
And our lack of faith
Don't go away
Don't go away
Don't leave
Me, I'll offer you pearls
Made out of the rain
That falls in a world
Where rain never falls
I'll ransack the earth
By day and by night
To cover your body
With gold and with light
I'll make a domain
Where love will be king
Love will be everything
You'll be the queen
Don't go away
Dont' go away
Don't leave
Don't go away
I'll invent for you
Words just meant for you
And you'll know what's meant
And I'll tell you the truth
About how other lovers
Looked into each other
And how they were moved
Then I'll read to you
The story of kings
Who lived without meeting you
Died without knowing you
Don't go away
Dont' go away
Don't leave
And just when you think
The volcano's expired
The craters turn pink
And the ash turns to fire
In a charred barren land
You can still be surprised
Wheat suddenly stands
Like a dream of Julys
When the sun sets
In a brilliant sky
The black and the red
Never touch as they die
Don't go away
Dont' go away
Don't leave
Don't go away
I won't cry anymore
I won't talk anymore
I'll crawl under the bed
And I'll watch you from there
As you smile and you dance
And I'll listen to hear
How you talk, when you laugh it's enough
In the shadow of you shadow
In the shadow of your hand
The shadow of your man
Don't go away
Dont' go away
Don't leave
The song "Don't Leave" by Momus speaks of pleading someone not to go away, not to leave. If forgiveness is the issue, then the singer is asking for the person not to go away if they can't forgive. The singer is then saying that to live, one must forget and let go of the times that they have misunderstood. All these misunderstood moments should just slip through the hands with the sand of time.
The singer then speaks of offering pearls made out of rain that falls in a world where it never rains. The singer would do everything to cover the person's body with gold and light. He will create a kingdom where love reigns and where everything is about love. The singer wants to make the person the queen of the kingdom.
The singer further pleads with the person not to go away. He will invent words that were just meant for the person so that they will understand what they mean. The singer will also read stories about kings who lived without meeting the person and died without knowing the person. The singer tells the person not to go away as, just when they thought everything is over, they will still be surprised by new beginnings.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't go away
Please don't leave me
If you can't forgive
If there's anything I've done to wrong you, please forgive me
Believe, just to live
Believing in our love is what keeps me going every day
You must forget
We should let go of past misunderstandings and move on
Forget the times
We should forget the moments that made us doubt each other
You misunderstand
We may have misunderstood each other in the past
Let them slip through your hand
Let those moments drift away like sand passing through our hands
With the sand of time
Time heals all wounds, and we should let go of the past over time
Forget those hours
Let go of any moments that caused us pain or confusion
When 'perhaps' has died
When our hope for the future may have died before
At the hands of 'why'
Because we may have asked each other 'why' too many times
And our lack of faith
Our lack of faith in each other or in our love has affected us in the past
Me, I'll offer you pearls
I want to give you something precious and beautiful
Made out of the rain
These pearls are made from something that can seem sad or gloomy, but is transformed into something beautiful
That falls in a world
These pearls come from a unique and special world
Where rain never falls
This world is unlike anything else, where even the weather can be different
I'll ransack the earth
I'll do anything to make you feel loved and valued
By day and by night
I'll never stop working to make our love better
To cover your body
I want to protect you and care for you
With gold and with light
I want to make you feel special and treasured
I'll make a domain
I want to create a world where we can be together and happy
Where love will be king
Our love will be the most important thing in that world
Love will be everything
Our love will be the foundation of that world and our lives
You'll be the queen
You'll hold a special place in that world and in my heart
I'll invent for you
I want to create something special just for you
Words just meant for you
These words are only for you and our love
And you'll know what's meant
You'll understand the true meaning behind these words
And I'll tell you the truth
I want to be honest with you about everything
About how other lovers
I'll tell you about other people who have loved before
Looked into each other
How they connected and cared for each other
And how they were moved
Their love had an impact on their lives and others' lives as well
Then I'll read to you
I want to share something special with you
The story of kings
This is a story of important people in history
Who lived without meeting you
Their lives were worth noting, but they missed out on knowing someone as special as you
Died without knowing you
They lived long ago and never had the chance to know you or experience love like ours
And just when you think
When things may seem hopeless or bleak
The volcano's expired
When the biggest and most powerful forces in nature seem to have stopped
The craters turn pink
Life and beauty can still arise out of seemingly desolate or cataclysmic environments
And the ash turns to fire
Even death and destruction can lead to rebirth and creation
In a charred barren land
Even in a place where nothing seems to grow or exist
You can still be surprised
We can always find beauty and happiness in unexpected places
Wheat suddenly stands
New life can appear where it seemed impossible before
Like a dream of Julys
Like a dream come true, something beautiful and perfect
When the sun sets
At the end of the day, when everything seems to be winding down
In a brilliant sky
There can still be beauty and magic in the world
The black and the red
Two contrasting colors that can never touch each other
Never touch as they die
Even when things are ending or finished, two completely different things will never become one
I won't cry anymore
I'll try to be strong and positive, even though I don't want you to leave
I won't talk anymore
I'll listen to you and let you make the decisions you need to make
I'll crawl under the bed
I'll hide and keep myself away from the world if you leave
And I'll watch you from there
I'll still try to keep an eye on you, even though you may be gone
As you smile and you dance
I'll remember the happier times we had together
And I'll listen to hear
I'll keep trying to hear your voice, even if you're not really there
How you talk, when you laugh it's enough
The sound of your voice and your laughter is enough to bring me comfort, even if you're not here in person
In the shadow of you shadow
Even when you're not here with me, your presence is still felt
In the shadow of your hand
You still guide me and protect me, even if you're far away
The shadow of your man
I'll always think of you as my partner and my love, even if you're not here
Contributed by Mason N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
M
When I first found your music I was not ready to understand it. It was beautiful but frightening. I was very young.
Now that I'm a young man approaching middle age, my experience has brought clarity in many ways. I can listen to songs that were too much for me back then, and I am moved.
Thank you.
Claude Mahaux
Very good version, quite faithful to Brel. Thank you!
K tiffy
A golden Momus, timeless, classic and absolutely , he is of a caliber of truly the legends
SlothCya
Well I love the original Brel and I totally love the Alison Moyet version and I am so pleased to add this to my versions of likes.
David Jones
A loose translation but more true to. the spirit of Brel than most.
onlyyesterday1967
Brilliant
PaperTiger
The imagery in this is beautiful. It's much truer to the original than previous english covers.
Michael Blum
All the English translations are loosely based, and a strict translation from the French is insufficient. This captures the essence: the poetry and imagery, the sense of performance that other versions lack. A great achievement, I think, and one that would have pleased Brel.
HaleG
Better than the original to me
RobinCarmody
The only good English translation.