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.

Sempreverde
Momus Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The man from the north enters the tube
Wriggles his way to the perspex cube
The man from the south dissolves in his mouth
A lozenge of Sempreverde

The man from the north and the man from the south
One by the brain, one by the mouth
Climb through the tube into the cube

Of the perspex Japanese garden

And in the pines a tiny sun shines
Birds small as insects fly through the air
The panda unzips the skin of a pig
Flops himself down in the garden

Fiddle me blank, fiddle me blind
All the young girls fiddle their minds
Jilly and Debbie and everyone's here
All for the Sempreverde

Giants and fairies and strange effigies
Sacred and artificial trees
Dragons and serpents and fish and birds
In the perspex Japanese garden

Otto the rich, Otto the poor
Spilling the stuff on the party floor
The past is so sad, the present is worse
Thank heaven we haven't a future

The world fills with trash and eskimo ash
Clouds of white gas floating in from the past
Crawl to the cashpoint, bring me the cash
And I'll get you the Sempreverde

I said 'I'm going to rape you'
She said okay
I said 'Don't say okay because then it's not rape'
She said 'Okay, I won't say okay'
On two tabs of Sempreverde

Evergreen Sempreverde

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Momus's song Sempreverde are a surreal and thought-provoking exploration of the contrast between the natural world and the artificiality of modern life. The opening lines describe two men, one from the north and one from the south, entering a tube and a perspex cube respectively. The man from the south takes a lozenge of Sempreverde, which appears to be a drug or some other substance that transports him to a strange Garden of Eden-like setting, complete with tiny sun, insects, and a panda sitting on a pig. The chorus speaks of young girls being influenced or "fiddled with" by the Sempreverde, as they wander amongst giants, fairies, and other fantastical creatures in the perspex Japanese garden.

The song's imagery is highly metaphorical, and the perspex cube seems to represent artificiality or man-made structures, while the natural world outside it is represented by the garden. The Sempreverde appears to be a symbol of escape from the dreariness and sadness of modern life into a more innocent and magical state of mind. The final lines suggest that there is no future, only the present, and that the world is rapidly filling with trash and pollution. The desire for Sempreverde, therefore, can be seen as a desperate attempt to retain some kind of purity or innocence in a world that seems to be losing these qualities.

Line by Line Meaning

The man from the north enters the tube
A man from the north enters a train station to embark on a journey.

Wriggles his way to the perspex cube
The man from the north navigates his way to a transparent, plastic chamber.

The man from the south dissolves in his mouth
Another man, from the south, ingests a substance that dissolves in his mouth.

A lozenge of Sempreverde
The substance the man from the south ingests is a small, green tablet known as Sempreverde.

The man from the north and the man from the south
Two men, from separate regions, embark on different actions.

One by the brain, one by the mouth
One man navigates his journey with his mind while the other man ingests a substance using his mouth.

Climb through the tube into the cube
Both men journey through the train station and enter the plastic chamber.

Of the perspex Japanese garden
The plastic chamber is designed to look like a Japanese garden, made of artificial materials.

And in the pines a tiny sun shines
Inside the plastic chamber, a small sun radiates light through artificial pine trees.

Birds small as insects fly through the air
Small, artificial birds are designed to fly through the air inside the plastic chamber.

The panda unzips the skin of a pig
An artificial panda unzips the skin of a fake pig as an unusual sight within the garden.

Flops himself down in the garden
After unzipping the fake pig, the fake panda lays down in the artificial garden.

Fiddle me blank, fiddle me blind
The lyrics take on a nonsensical tone without a clear meaning.

All the young girls fiddle their minds
Young girls are preoccupied with their thoughts and ideas.

Jilly and Debbie and everyone's here
The song introduces various people in attendance while lacking any clear context or setting.

All for the Sempreverde
All people present are enjoying or seeking the effects of the ingested substance, Sempreverde.

Giants and fairies and strange effigies
Strange, mythical creatures are present within the artificial garden as additional, unusual sights.

Sacred and artificial trees
The garden also contains artificial, fake trees alongside more naturalistic elements.

Dragons and serpents and fish and birds
Additional fictitious creatures are also present in the garden to add to its unusual atmosphere.

In the perspex Japanese garden
The artificial garden engineered inside the plastic chamber designed to resemble a Japanese garden.

Otto the rich, Otto the poor
The lyrics introduce two characters with contrasting financial standings, named Otto.

Spilling the stuff on the party floor
One of the Ottos spills some of the ingested substance, Sempreverde, onto the floor during an event or party.

The past is so sad, the present is worse
The present is an unfortunate reality compared to a past with its own hardships.

Thank heaven we haven't a future
Despite current struggles, there is no future to be anxious over or concerned about.

The world fills with trash and eskimo ash
The world is becoming increasingly polluted with waste and ash from industrial advancements and pollution.

Clouds of white gas floating in from the past
White clouds of poisonous gas from previous environmental atrocities continue to cause harm and damage.

Crawl to the cashpoint, bring me the cash
The song references attempting to acquire money from an ATM for some purpose.

And I'll get you the Sempreverde
That money will be used to obtain more of the substance Sempreverde.

I said 'I'm going to rape you'
The song takes an abruptly disturbing direction by referencing a violent, nonconsensual act.

She said okay
The individual on the receiving end of this comment initially agrees or consents.

I said 'Don't say okay because then it's not rape'
The singer doubles down on the previous comment by attempting to redefine rape to suit their desires.

She said 'Okay, I won't say okay'
The other individual is acquiescing by attempting to follow this warped definition of what constitutes rape.

On two tabs of Sempreverde
The discussion of rape occurs under the influence of the drug Sempreverde, adding to the overall disturbing tone of the lyrics.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NICHOLAS CURRIE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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