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.
Finnegan The Folk Hero
Momus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is a master's shoe
Click the master's shoe
There's a blue-tailed fly
Click a blind man's foot
See a horse's tail
It's down to Finnegan
The folk hero of HTML
This is the tale
Of a clever sod
HTML
Was his gift from God
He slaved all night
Coding the master's site
Never paid a cent
What was his by rights
How the website burns
Since Finnegan fell!
Let's pray that he returns
From web designer hell
He's the only one can fix it
Fix it good and well
Finnegan, the folk hero of HTML
He could stream Quicktime
He could code in Flash
He could make your icons dance with Java
Then empty out your trash
But Finnegan's dead
Rotted clean away
Because the bastard master
Never gave him any pay
How the bastard yells
'cause the website's down
When he taps his URLs
All he gets is '404 Not Found'
By the coffee machine
Screaming Finnegan's name
But the folk hero is dead
And there is no-one left to blame
We've lost our shirts
Now Finnegan's gone
If he had got his just deserts
We could've been cracking merrily on
'cause there was just one man could fix it
Fix it good and well
That's Finnegan, the folk hero of HTML
When the web is quiet
On a moonlit night
There is phantom code
On the master's site
Some say it's spiders
Or a bot from hell
Like hell! It's Finnegan, the folk hero of HTML
The song "Finnegan The Folk Hero" by Momus is a tribute to Finnegan, a skilled web designer who was never compensated for his work by his boss, the "bastard master". The lyrics describe how the website that Finnegan designed has suffered since his death, and how his presence is still felt in the code of the website. The first verse mentions a "master's shoe" in a field of corn, which is a reference to the folk song "Jimmy Crack Corn" where a blue-tailed fly is swatted by the master who is then killed by his slave. This creative use of intertextuality in the lyrics adds to the song's depth and complexity. The song goes on to describe how "HTML was his gift from God" and how Finnegan was a master of various coding languages such as Quicktime, Flash, and Java, but was never given payment for his work. The chorus repeats the line "Finnegan, the folk hero of HTML" emphasizing his importance to the success of the website and his lasting legacy.
The second verse talks about how the website has suffered since Finnegan's death and how his absence has left a void that cannot be filled. The imagery of the "phantom code" on the website at night and the mention of spiders and bots gives the song a haunting quality. The song ends with the realization that without Finnegan, the website may never be fixed, and the implication that his boss, the "bastard master" will continue to profit from his work. The lyrics are a commentary on the exploitation of skilled workers in the tech industry and the importance of recognizing and compensating them fairly.
Line by Line Meaning
In a field of corn
This is the setting of the story
Is a master's shoe
The master's property is present in the field
Click the master's shoe
Pay attention to the master's property
There's a blue-tailed fly
A pesky, insignificant nuisance is present
Click a blind man's foot
Take advantage of a disabled person
See a horse's tail
Observe the signs of a problem
It's down to Finnegan
The responsibility falls on Finnegan
The folk hero of HTML
Finnegan is a skilled web developer
This is the tale
The story is about to begin
Of a clever sod
Finnegan is intelligent and resourceful
HTML
The programming language in which Finnegan excels
Was his gift from God
Finnegan has a natural talent for coding
He slaved all night
Finnegan worked tirelessly
Coding the master's site
Finnegan built the master's website
Never paid a cent
Finnegan was not compensated for his hard work
What was his by rights
Finnegan deserved to be paid for his work
How the website burns
The website is in a state of chaos
Since Finnegan fell!
Since Finnegan's disappearance
Let's pray that he returns
There is hope for Finnegan's return
From web designer hell
From a place of frustration and despair
He's the only one can fix it
Finnegan is the only one with the skills to repair the website
Fix it good and well
Finnegan can solve the problem completely
He could stream Quicktime
Finnegan had knowledge in video streaming
He could code in Flash
Finnegan was skilled in Flash programming
He could make your icons dance with Java
Finnegan could create interactive icons with Java
Then empty out your trash
Finnegan could solve computer issues beyond just programming
But Finnegan's dead
Finnegan is not coming back
Rotted clean away
Finnegan's body has decayed
Because the bastard master
The master of the website is a bad person
Never gave him any pay
Finnegan was never compensated for his work
How the bastard yells
The master is angry
'cause the website's down
The website is not working
When he taps his URLs
When the master tries to access the site
All he gets is '404 Not Found'
The site is returning an error message
By the coffee machine
The place where the master stands
Screaming Finnegan's name
The master is frustrated with Finnegan's absence
And there is no-one left to blame
No one is responsible for fixing the website
We've lost our shirts
We have lost everything
Now Finnegan's gone
Finnegan is no longer present
If he had got his just deserts
If Finnegan had been compensated as he should have been
We could've been cracking merrily on
Things could be going well
'cause there was just one man could fix it
Finnegan was the only one who could solve the website's problems
When the web is quiet
During a slow period for the internet
On a moonlit night
In a setting with a romantic tone
There is phantom code
There is mysterious code on the website
On the master's site
On the website Finnegan built
Some say it's spiders
Some speculate the code is just from automated bots
Or a bot from hell
Others believe the code is from a malicious source
Like hell! It's Finnegan, the folk hero of HTML
Actually, the code is from Finnegan's ghost, using his skills even beyond death
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aldo Charles
on Morality Is Vanity
I’ve been listening to this song last two weeks.