Nick Currie (born February 11, 1960 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK)… Read Full Bio ↴Nick Currie (born February 11, 1960 in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK), more popularly known under the artist name Momus (after the Greek god of mockery), is a songwriter, writer, blogger and artist. Most of his songs are self-referential or postmodern.

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.

Hippopotamomus
Momus Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I come from the jungle
From Popocatepetl
Chief of the clan
Hippopotamomae
But when the filthy great volcano
Wiped out my fellow hippos
I was the only individual to survive

Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl
Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl

We rolled in mud
Deep in the bed of the river
Were monster fat
And loved only disgusting things
We rummaged about for truffles
Then shat them out in the forest
By the fabulous tombs of Aztec kings

Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl
Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl

One day as I lay humping under Popocatepetl
The volcano started pumping down hot liquid metal
A flood of steaming lava erupted like Pompeii
And stuck me forever to the hippo I was fucking that day

Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl
Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl

Then a team of boring scientists shoved us in a crate
Packed it up with straw and then conveyed me and my mate
To the Museum of Natural History, where between two stuffed camels
They stuck us in this case labelled 'Copulating Artiodactyl Mammals'

Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl
Hip-hip-hip-hip-hip-hip-hip Hippopota- Hippopota-
Pop-pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl Popocatepetl pop

Pop-pop-pop
Hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Hip-hip-hip
Pop-pop-pop-pop Popocate-
Hip-hip
Pop-pop Popocatepetl

So press your nose against the glass of the case of the Hippopotamomus
Lithe, wriggling schoolgirl, blowing kisses, making eyes
So blithely unaware, as you snigger at my lust
You'll be in this position by and by

Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop Popocatepetl

Hip-hip-hip Hippopotamomus
Pop-pop-pop-pop

Overall Meaning

The song "Hippopotamomus" by Momus tells the story of a hippopotamus who hails from the Popocatepetl region in the jungle, where he was chief of the Hippopotamomae clan. Despite being a filthy, mud-rolling creature who loved only disgusting things, he was also the only survivor when a volcano wiped out his fellow hippos. The lyrics then describe how the hippo became permanently stuck to a fellow hippo he was mating with during another volcanic eruption. They were eventually preserved and displayed in the Museum of Natural History, labeled as "Copulating Artiodactyl Mammals," and the song ends with a warning to the listener that they may one day find themselves in a similar predicament.

The lyrics of the song are full of surreal imagery and dark humor, with Momus using the story of the hippopotamus as a metaphor for the human condition. The hippo's perseverance in surviving both volcanic eruptions, as well as his mating instincts, are used to comment on the persistence of life and desire, even in the face of catastrophic events.

Line by Line Meaning

I come from the jungle
I originate from the wild and untamed areas

From Popocatepetl
Located near Popocatepetl, an active volcano in Mexico

Chief of the clan
Leader of the hippopotamus group I belonged to

Hippopotamomae
The name of the hippopotamus group I belong to

But when the filthy great volcano
However, when the violent volcano erupted

Wiped out my fellow hippos
The eruption killed all of my hippopotamus group

I was the only individual to survive
I was the only hippopotamus that survived the deadly eruption

We rolled in mud
As hippopotamuses, we enjoyed wallowing in mud

Deep in the bed of the river
We preferred to roll in the mud in the riverbed

Were monster fat
We were extremely overweight

And loved only disgusting things
We had a taste for unappetizing items

We rummaged about for truffles
We searched for truffles to eat

Then shat them out in the forest
We later defecated those truffles in the woods

By the fabulous tombs of Aztec kings
We left our waste near the impressive graves of Aztec rulers

One day as I lay humping under Popocatepetl
One active day, as I was having sexual intercourse under Popocatepetl

The volcano started pumping down hot liquid metal
The active volcano began ejecting molten liquid metal

A flood of steaming lava erupted like Pompeii
A tsunami of boiling lava spewed out harshly like the Pompeii incident

And stuck me forever to the hippo I was fucking that day
The lava permanently attached me to the hippopotamus partner I was with during mating

Then a team of boring scientists shoved us in a crate
A dull group of scientists confined us in a container

Packed it up with straw and then conveyed me and my mate
They stuffed the crate with straw and moved both my partner and me

To the Museum of Natural History, where between two stuffed camels
They brought us to the Museum of Natural History and placed our crate amidst two stuffed camels

They stuck us in this case labelled 'Copulating Artiodactyl Mammals'
They put us in an exhibition case described as 'Mating Artiodactyl Mammals'

So press your nose against the glass of the case of the Hippopotamomus
Now, latch your nose on the glass enclosure of the Hippopotamus' showcase

Lithe, wriggling schoolgirl, blowing kisses, making eyes
Slim and flexible female student, puckering, and flirting with seductive glances

So blithely unaware, as you snigger at my lust
So cheerfully naive as you giggle over my sexual desire

You'll be in this position by and by
You'll reach this analogous state soon

Contributed by Ian Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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