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 Girl With No Body
Momus Lyrics
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Across ballet school studio floors
Noon, the first day of the holidays
And the college is already closed
But she stands at the mirror
And dreams of the boy who has left her alone here to die
And the mirrors reflect to infinity
And she looks at herself with his eye
And the one boy that mattered rejected her
So she shattered the image the mirror threw back at her
Breasts too flat, legs too thin
Skin supernaturally pale
And now nobody sees her, the girl with no body
Dancing in the labyrinth alone
And she stands at the washbasin looking glass
Turns on the tap with a twist
And like Alice in Wonderland, quite unsurprised
Sees the razorblade enter her wrist
And the one boy that mattered rejected her
So she shattered the image the mirror threw back at her
Breasts too flat, legs too thin
Skin supernaturally pale
And now nobody sees her, the girl with no body
Dying in the labyrinth alone
The Girl With No Body by Momus is a song about Rosemary, a girl who attends ballet school and is struggling with body image issues and the rejection of a boy she cares about. The lyrics paint a picture of Rosemary standing alone in front of a mirror on the first day of the holidays, dreaming of the boy who left her there to die. As she looks at herself in the mirror, she sees her flaws reflected back to infinity, and she sees herself through his eyes. The rejection she has experienced has taken a toll on her, and she is caught in a labyrinth of self-doubt and insecurity.
In the second verse, Rosemary's self-hatred has led her to harm herself. She sees herself as the girl with no body, dancing and dying in the labyrinth alone. The chorus reinforces this theme, with the line "And now nobody sees her" emphasizing the invisibility that she feels due to her lack of self-worth. The allusion to Alice in Wonderland highlights the surrealness of the situation, as Rosemary is seemingly unsurprised by the razor blade entering her wrist. Ultimately, the song is a tragic portrait of a young girl struggling with self-acceptance and the overwhelming pressure to conform to standards of beauty.
Line by Line Meaning
Rosemary walks across corridors
Rosemary is navigating through the hallways of the ballet school.
Across ballet school studio floors
She is also walking across the dance studio floors.
Noon, the first day of the holidays
It's the first day of vacation at noon.
And the college is already closed
The college is shut because of the holidays.
But she stands at the mirror
Rosemary is standing in front of a mirror.
And dreams of the boy who has left her alone here to die
She's thinking about the boy who abandoned her, leaving her heartbroken.
And the mirrors reflect to infinity
The reflections in the mirrors appear to go on indefinitely.
And she looks at herself with his eye
Rosemary tries to see herself from the perspective of the boy who left her.
And the one boy that mattered rejected her
The one boy she cared about dismissed her.
So she shattered the image the mirror threw back at her
She destroyed the reflection of herself in the mirror that made her feel inadequate.
Breasts too flat, legs too thin
She sees herself as unattractive because of her figure and body shape.
Skin supernaturally pale
Her skin appears to be overly pale, almost ghostlike.
And now nobody sees her, the girl with no body
Because of her insecurities and self-doubt, Rosemary feels invisible and irrelevant.
Dancing in the labyrinth alone
She dances by herself, feeling lost and trapped in her thoughts.
And she stands at the washbasin looking glass
Rosemary is standing in front of a sink mirror.
Turns on the tap with a twist
She turns on the faucet, twisting the handle.
And like Alice in Wonderland, quite unsurprised
She's numbed and not taken aback by what she's about to do, like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.
Sees the razorblade enter her wrist
She sees the razorblade cut into her wrist, likely attempting suicide.
Dying in the labyrinth alone
Her suicidal behavior leads to her feeling more alone and lost than ever before.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aldo Charles
on Morality Is Vanity
I’ve been listening to this song last two weeks.