Pierrot Lunaire
Momus Lyrics

The string to his head
His thoughts and actions are controlled by others, just like a puppet on a string

The boss makes it nod
The puppet master controls him through work and employment

The string to his mouth
His basic necessities are controlled, he can only eat what is given to him

His mum pulls for food
Even the most basic source of his sustenance is not in his control, it's his mother who feeds him

The string to his soul
His destiny or purpose seems to be in the hands of a higher power

It leads up to God
His puppet master leads him to believe that his life is being controlled by a higher power

But who controls
He wonders who controls his sexual desires

The string to his cock?
He hints towards the idea of his desires being beyond anyone's control, shifting from the idea of being completely controlled through strings

In the bleak midwinter
The monotonous and uneventful routine of his life which has left him bored and uninspired

At the bottom of the stair
He feels stuck, with no movement or progress, possibly a metaphor for his life or career

I'll set myself on fire
He wishes to end it all drastically and dramatically with his flames and passions

Pour petrol in my hair
The idea of ending it all by self-immolation

If he would ever notice
He wishes someone would care enough to notice that something is wrong

If he would even care
He is doubtful that anyone really cares about him

Football on a Sunday
The monotony of his weekends, filled with mundane and routine activities

Drinks after work
Another part of his monotonous routine, showing a lack of any real excitement in his life

Tuesday a D.J.
Even his social outings or events are nothing more than routine, with nothing particularly exciting or different about them

Friday a jerk
Even the people he interacts with are nothing special, and not worth his time

And what really matters?
He questions the point of everything, his life, his routine, his experiences

And who really cares?
He wonders if anyone really cares about him or his situation

My lover's a puppet
He realizes that even his romantic relationships are like the rest of his life, an act with no real substance or life to them, possibly alluding to his partner being emotionally unavailable or manipulating him

Pierrot Lunaire
Pierrot is a stock character from French pantomime, symbolic of the sad clown who plays the fool and falls in love with Columbine. It could be a metaphor for his own situation

Others have boyfriends
He compares his situation to that of others who are able to have fulfilling and meaningful relationships

Boyfriends who care
He envies those people who are with someone who genuinely cares for them

Of flesh and blood
His partners are static and lack any real emotion, not providing him with the physical and emotional connection that other people have

Not string and air
Unlike his relationships which are controlled in a similar fashion as his life, by strings and air and not physical, intimate emotions

They lay them on beds
The comparison to what others have, real intimate moments shared on a bed

They whisper, "je t'aime"
The visible and vocal expression of love

They take off their clothes
A physical intimacy that he doesn't have with his partners

And make love to them
A genuine emotional and physical connection between two people

One day I'll cut my arms off
The drastic and possibly disturbing nature of his thoughts

And send them to him
The fantasy or thought of sending pieces of himself to his partner, perhaps as an expression of his love or an attempt to gain their attention

I'll be Polcinella
Polichinelle is a French puppet, possibly alluding to the idea of him becoming a character, no longer himself, and thus someone different and potentially interesting to his partner

We'll hang out so close
The desire to be near to his partner in the way that other people are physically intimate

My wooden cheek
A metaphor for the wooden expression of his face, a fake and emotionless portrayal

To his wooden nose
Comparing his partner to a puppet, who would have a wooden nose

Lysergic Lysander
A reference to Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD, hinting at the nature of his thoughts

Nodding his head
The image of a nodding head, lost in an altered reality, almost absent-minded and disconnected from the world around them

A glittery panda
A random and disconnected image, perhaps implying the loss of focus and reality that he is experiencing

That needs to be fed
An image of neediness or desire, possibly referring to his own need for attention and care

A Cantonese opera
A reference to a style of musical drama, hinting at the theatricality of his own existence

Performed at the zoo
The metaphor of life being a performance, also hinting at the lack of meaning or purpose

These foolish things
The meaningless and absurd aspects of his life

Remind me of you
The constant thought of his partner and his unrequited love for them

And the puppet girls kiss you
The idea of the puppet girls in his partner's life, alluding to the idea of him being replaced or controlled by someone else's whims and desires

Up there on the moon
The idea of the puppet girls being above him or out of his reach

They must know I miss you
The idea that everyone around him knows how he feels and the agony he is going through

Please come back soon
The hope that his partner will return to him and end his torment

I know you'll never care
The acceptance that his partner will not give him what he needs or desires

I know you can't cry so don't even try
The realization that what he is going through is not something his partner may understand or have the capacity to comprehend, and that he must deal with it on his own

When you've cried as much as me, the tears roll by
The idea that he has gone through a lot and the tears no longer provide the same emotional release

The years rain down, the tears don't dry
The idea that the hardship of life does not get any easier or lighter, it only gets worse with each passing year

They dangle from your chin like a memory
The weight of his sadness is something that is always there, like a heavy memory or thought that cannot be forgotten

I passed you on the stair, you're like, I swear
The idea of passing his partner on the stairs and still not getting their attention or care

Who's been sleeping in baby bear's lair?
The reference to Goldilocks and the Three Bears, hinting at the idea of intrusion and unease in his own relationship

How's Cruel Frederick, is anybody there?
Reference to a German ballad, hinting at his desire to connect with someone and the frustration of all his attempts failing

The Nosferatu puppet with corkscrew hair?
The reference to the vampire puppet with twisted or curly hair, an allusion to the idea of his partner being dark and manipulative

The nest of baby spiders underneath the chair?
The comparison to the feeling of unease, and the idea of something small and terrifying being hidden in close proximity

All the survivors of the massacre
The memory of a violent event simmering in the back of his mind

All the little friends of Henry Darger
Reference to Henry Darger, an outsider artist with an interest in fantasy and children. It could allude to the idea of people with similar interests or a connection that he is not able to make

Living large but dreaming larger
The idea of having dreams and aspirations but not actively working to achieve them

Patience is a virtue and virtue is a grace
The idea that patience and inner calmness are qualities to aspire to

And Grace is a little girl who slaps your face
The realization that the world has different rules and expectations, and sometimes one's own expectations need to be adjusted

All the little tears going down the drain
The idea that one's tears and pain are reduced to nothingness, never to be acknowledged or remembered

Here we go again
The repetition of life and the monotony of it all, taking him back to the beginning once more