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.

Little Apples
Momus Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lying in the nude with my Apple G4 cube
I am rendering a porcupine in Bryce
And in Stratavision Pro I'm designing where to grow
Little apples when I build a haybale house

I heard on Ananova while snoozing in the clover
They've mapped the human genotype at last
And when the news was done I looked up into the sun

Through my Fuji DV1 and photographed a lone
Golden eagle like a Stealth jet on a test

As the cliches turn to truths
Like the trees begin to lose
Their leaves I think
I've lost where I belong

Tears fill up my eyes
'Cause I'm leaving life behind
To live forever in a country music song

I drank and then I lied
I shot and then I died
I woke up under open country sky
Is West Virginia real

Here on my windshield
It sure as hell looks strange
In the weird Blue Mountain rain
Like a figment of my melancholy mind

The seasons as they turn
A log fire as it burns
Country music always at my heels
I'm becoming all the songs
I've been living them so long
I sometimes sing the words in Japanese

Break me out of jail
Before my memory fails
I don't believe in destiny or God
Did a flying sauce come

Flying from the sun
And fry my brain and dazzle me with fog
Did it take my soul away
Is that why it's all so strange

I've forgotten the refrain
Bury me at sea
Say Who the hell was he?
Or weep on bended knee

But say these lines:
'Here lies a fool who never knew

Who he really was and threw away the little apples
The little apples of his mind'

Overall Meaning

The song "Little Apples" by Momus is a beautiful interpretation of living life in the world of technology, and the quest for meaning in a seemingly meaningless world. The first verse refers to the singer's way of life, being nude and working on a computer to create art, while he is building a house to grow little apples in. The second verse is inspired by the news of scientists mapping the human genotype, an insight in the secrets of what makes us human, yet the singer feels lost, unable to find a place where he belongs. The changing seasons and the country music he listens to further insinuate his search for a sense of belonging.

The chorus of the song is quite depressing, where the singer feels like he is leaving the world behind to live forever in a country music song. He wakes up under the blue mountain rain, questioning if his surreal surroundings, like West Virginia, is real or just a figment of his melancholic mind. He questions whether his memory has failed him, whether a flying sauce has taken his soul, and if his existence is nothing more than a dream. The singer feels helpless at the thought of being buried at sea, and only wants his tombstone to say he was a fool who threw away the little apples of his mind.

Line by Line Meaning

Lying in the nude with my Apple G4 cube
I am naked and using my computer, an Apple G4 cube

I am rendering a porcupine in Bryce
I am using the software Bryce to create an image of a porcupine

And in Stratavision Pro I'm designing where to grow
I am using Stratavision Pro to plan where to plant and cultivate

Little apples when I build a haybale house
I plan to grow little apples when I construct my haybale house

I heard on Ananova while snoozing in the clover
While taking a nap outside, I overheard news on Ananova

They've mapped the human genotype at last
Scientists have finally created a complete map of the human genotype

And when the news was done I looked up into the sun
After the news finished, I gazed up into the sun

Through my Fuji DV1 and photographed a lone Golden eagle like a Stealth jet on a test
I used my camera, a Fuji DV1, to capture an image of a single Golden eagle that looked like a Stealth jet being tested

As the cliches turn to truths
As common phrases become realities

Like the trees begin to lose Their leaves I think
Similar to how the trees shed their leaves, I am experiencing a loss of direction

I've lost where I belong
I do not know where I should be

Tears fill up my eyes
I am starting to cry

'Cause I'm leaving life behind
Because I am saying goodbye to life

To live forever in a country music song
To be remembered in a country music song for all eternity

I drank and then I lied
I consumed alcohol and then told falsehoods

I shot and then I died
I used a firearm and then passed away

I woke up under open country sky
I regained consciousness outside under the open sky

Is West Virginia real
I am questioning whether or not West Virginia is a real place

Here on my windshield
On my vehicle's window

It sure as hell looks strange
It appears very odd to me

In the weird Blue Mountain rain
In the unusual rainfall over the Blue Mountains

Like a figment of my melancholy mind
It feels like something from my sad thoughts or imagination

The seasons as they turn
As the seasons change

A log fire as it burns
Seeing a fire burning logs

Country music always at my heels
Country music is always following me

I'm becoming all the songs
I am starting to personify all the country music songs

I've been living them so long
I have been living these songs for a long time

I sometimes sing the words in Japanese
Occasionally I sing the lyrics in Japanese

Break me out of jail
Rescue me from imprisonment

Before my memory fails
Before I start losing my memory

I don't believe in destiny or God
I have no faith in fate or a higher power

Did a flying sauce come
Did an unidentified flying object arrive

Flying from the sun
Coming from the sun

And fry my brain and dazzle me with fog
Effectively damaging my brain and blinding me with confusion

Did it take my soul away
Did it capture and remove my soul

Is that why it's all so strange
Is that the reason for everything being so bizarre

I've forgotten the refrain
I cannot recall the chorus of the song

Bury me at sea
Dispose of my body in the ocean

Say Who the hell was he?
Ask who was that person in question

Or weep on bended knee
Cry on bent knees

But say these lines: 'Here lies a fool who never knew Who he really was and threw away the little apples The little apples of his mind'
However, make one thing clear: 'This person was ignorant of his true self and carelessly discarded the precious ideas in his mind'

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: NICHOLAS CURRIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS