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.
The Gatecrasher
Momus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
His grandfather wore in the war
Saying nothing to no-one, just drinks as if that's
What God gave him his ugly mouth for
And he doesn't make passes at the girls in the corner
In their Bolshevik glasses and black
When they giggle a little and look at him funny
The gatecrasher only looks back
He takes in the faces, never quite placing them
Squinting his short-sighted eyes
And each one reminds him of someone he's known
Or someone he faintly dislikes
And he can't understand the naive curiosity
Forcing two strangers to talk
When language is always and everywhere language
And people are like cheese and chalk
So he lifts himself out of his squatting position
And gets up for something to eat
But the ham is too pink and the turkey is cardboard
And the plate is as floppy as meat
So he fills up his glass with a bottle of vodka
Snatched from some new arrivals who stare
As he tips back his head like a man seized with laughter
And spits the drink into the fire
And he looks so appealing with eyes like a bloodhound
And hair like the 'Quatre Cent Coups'
With the holes in his trousers designed to arouse us
He looks like he'd know what to do
On the rims of his eyes there's a trace of infection
Or maybe the mark of a tear
And is it mascara or is it bacteria, there where the white, where the white disappears?
And which of those girls isn't scared of him
And which of us isn't the same
And maybe that's why, of the four of them
No one remembers the gatecrasher's name
Absentmindedly licking the tip of a finger
He's just used for scratching his ear
He wrinkles his nose at the taste of the wax
Which, like him, is acidic and sour
And just for a second something comes back to him
Something so real and remote
That he tips back his vodka to blank out the thought
And he grins as it scorches his throat
Maybe he thought of his mother, how she kicked out his father
When he'd pushed her around once too much
And how he'd pretended to sleep as she hugged him
And how he'd been calmed by her touch
Or he's sad with nostalgia for a little Italian
He met in a bar in Milan
While they swept up the glass on Piazza Fontana
He knew she'd be thinking of him
She'd be thinking of him
Or he wonders why Hitler liked lemon verbena
And whether he loved Eva Braun
Or maybe he thinks of his cheap bed and breakfast
On the far side of town
The song "The Gatecrasher" by Momus tells the story of a mysterious man who shows up uninvited at a party wearing dark glasses his grandfather wore in the war. He drinks without engaging with anyone, seemingly observing the partygoers. The singer describes how the man is different from the rest, not making advances towards the girls or engaging in conversation. He seems lost in thought, recognizing faces but unable to place them. He becomes lost in thought, reminiscing about past experiences and possibly even his mother leaving his abusive father.
The partygoers view him with apprehension, unsure what to make of him. The gatecrasher's appearance is described as both intriguing and intimidating, with his hair styled after the singer of 400 Blows and holes in his trousers, adding to his mysterious persona. He comes across as somewhat of an enigma, lost in thought, at times possibly disconnected from reality.
Overall, "The Gatecrasher" paints a picture of a lonely, lost figure finding himself at a party where he did not belong. It offers a poignant commentary on how we judge others so harshly when they don't fit into the expected social norms, ignoring the fact that everyone is fighting their own battles.
Line by Line Meaning
He shows up at the party in a pair of dark glasses
The gatecrasher enters the party wearing a pair of dark glasses.
His grandfather wore in the war
The glasses were the same ones his grandfather used to wear during the war.
Saying nothing to no-one, just drinks as if that's
The gatecrasher doesn't talk to anyone but drinks as if it is his only reason for being there.
What God gave him his ugly mouth for
He drinks as if that's what he was born to do despite his unattractive appearance.
And he doesn't make passes at the girls in the corner
The gatecrasher ignores the girls in the corner and doesn't try to hit on them.
In their Bolshevik glasses and black
The girls wear Bolshevik glasses and black attire.
When they giggle a little and look at him funny
When the girls look at him strangely and giggle, he simply looks back at them.
The gatecrasher only looks back
He doesn't make any movements and just stares back at the girls.
He takes in the faces, never quite placing them
The gatecrasher tries to recognize the faces, but he can't seem to place them.
Squinting his short-sighted eyes
He squints his eyes as he tries to recognize the people.
And each one reminds him of someone he's known
Each face reminds him of someone he has met before.
Or someone he faintly dislikes
Some of the faces remind him of people he doesn't like much.
And he can't understand the naive curiosity
The gatecrasher doesn't understand why strangers try to talk with one another.
Forcing two strangers to talk
He thinks it's strange for strangers to be forced to talk to one another.
When language is always and everywhere language
He believes that language is constant and universal.
And people are like cheese and chalk
People are too different to find common ground.
So he lifts himself out of his squatting position
The gatecrasher stands up from where he was squatting.
And gets up for something to eat
He decides to eat something after standing up.
But the ham is too pink and the turkey is cardboard
The food is not of good quality, the ham is under-cooked and the turkey is tasteless.
And the plate is as floppy as meat
The plate is flimsy like raw meat.
So he fills up his glass with a bottle of vodka
The gatecrasher fills his glass with vodka from a newly arrived bottle.
Snatched from some new arrivals who stare
The new arrivals watch him as he takes the bottle of vodka.
As he tips back his head like a man seized with laughter
He lifts his head as if he is laughing loudly.
And spits the drink into the fire
The gatecrasher spits the drink into the fire.
And he looks so appealing with eyes like a bloodhound
Despite his unattractive appearance, the gatecrasher manages to look interesting with his bloodhound-like eyes.
And hair like the 'Quatre Cent Coups'
He has a hairstyle similar to the one in the French film 'The 400 Blows'.
With the holes in his trousers designed to arouse us
He has purposely torn holes in his pants to grab attention.
He looks like he'd know what to do
The gatecrasher appears confident and experienced.
On the rims of his eyes there's a trace of infection
There is a hint of an infection around his eyes.
Or maybe the mark of a tear
Perhaps, it could be a tear around his eyes.
And is it mascara or is it bacteria, there where the white, where the white disappears?
The gatecrasher has marks around his eyes that are hard to distinguish, they might be due to mascara or bacteria.
And which of those girls isn't scared of him
He wonders which girl isn't scared of him.
And which of us isn't the same
The gatecrasher wonders who amongst us is not the same way as him.
And maybe that's why, of the four of them
Perhaps, that's why none of the girls remember his name.
No one remembers the gatecrasher's name
None of the attendees remember his name.
Absentmindedly licking the tip of a finger
He tries to remove the ear wax using his finger and absentmindedly licks his finger.
He's just used for scratching his ear
The gatecrasher only uses his finger to scratch his ear.
He wrinkles his nose at the taste of the wax
He scowls at the taste of his ear wax.
Which, like him, is acidic and sour
The taste of the wax is sour, similar to his unpleasant attitude.
And just for a second something comes back to him
A fleeting memory comes to his mind for a moment.
Something so real and remote
The memory is distant and genuine.
That he tips back his vodka to blank out the thought
The gatecrasher drinks excessively to push the memory out of his mind.
And he grins as it scorches his throat
He appears happy but is in pain as he drinks the hard alcohol.
Maybe he thought of his mother, how she kicked out his father
The memory that occurred to him might have been his mother kicking his father out of their house.
When he'd pushed her around once too much
His father might have physically abused his mother.
And how he'd pretended to sleep as she hugged him
As his mother hugged him tightly, he pretended to sleep.
And how he'd been calmed by her touch
He felt calm in his mother's embrace.
Or he's sad with nostalgia for a little Italian
He might be nostalgic about a relationship with an Italian woman.
He met in a bar in Milan
He might have met her in Milan in a bar.
While they swept up the glass on Piazza Fontana
They might have cleaned the glass from Piazza Fontana, Milan's central square, after a riot.
He knew she'd be thinking of him
The gatecrasher thought that the Italian woman would be thinking about him, too.
She'd be thinking of him
He believes the Italian woman still thinks about him.
Or he wonders why Hitler liked lemon verbena
The gatecrasher ponders why Hitler showed an interest in lemon verbena.
And whether he loved Eva Braun
He also wonders if Hitler loved Eva Braun.
Or maybe he thinks of his cheap bed and breakfast
The gatecrasher remembers a bed and breakfast he once stayed at, that was not very expensive.
On the far side of town
The bed and breakfast was located far from where the party was taking place.
Contributed by Alexandra I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Aldo Charles
on Morality Is Vanity
I’ve been listening to this song last two weeks.