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 Guitar Lesson
Momus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a midnight blue school uniform
Lips just a little too full for her face
Distant eyes full of space
In her posture no trace of coquette
No defiance
She fingers the frets looking forlorn
Starts as her mother comes into the room
And the afternoon grows still
And her mother feels chill
Shivers and buttons her coat
I gently correct the curve of her back
And open her book in the now-empty flat
At the classical piece I've had her prepare
And her arms are bare as she plays
And I draw back behind her ear
A few strands of hair gone astray
She shows me her bracelet, the lesson is done
I turn it around between finger and thumb
We sit face to face and it seems to me that
Her face is the face of a cat
And touching the place where her breasts will be
I press my hand flat
She comes into my lap, I turn her around
Her hands clasp my neck and her feet skim the ground
Her skirt travels up under my palm
But the pupil sits looking so calm
As if listening to the distant sound
Of a burglar alarm
What happened next it's hard to recall
The guitar lesson left no traces at all
Now, from afar, it seems to resemble
A strange composition in oil
Of a man, a guitar, and an innocent little girl
The song "The Guitar Lesson" by Momus has been widely criticized for its controversial and suggestive lyrics. The song tells a story of a guitar teacher and his student, a twelve-year-old girl, who appears to be withdrawn and distant. The first verse describes the girl's physical appearance, including her school uniform, full lips, and "distant eyes full of space." The teacher observes her posture, which he notes as lacking defiance or coquettishness.
The second verse describes the guitar lesson, where the girl sits forlornly and crosses her legs, revealing torn tights. Her mother enters the room, and the scene grows still. The teacher corrects her posture and opens her book to a classical piece. As she plays, he draws a few strands of hair back behind her ear. The lesson ends when the girl shows him her bracelet, and they sit face to face. The teacher touches the place where her breasts will be and holds her in his lap.
The third and final verse is the most controversial, as the events that occur are unclear. The teacher can barely remember what happened, and it seems like a blurred, dreamlike sequence of events. He ends up holding the girl in his lap, and her skirt rides up under his palm. The song ends with the suggestion of something unspeakable having occurred.
Overall, the song is a disturbing portrayal of a predatory relationship between a teacher and his student. The lyrics are suggestive and unsettling, and many have criticized them for glorifying statutory rape.
Line by Line Meaning
The pupil is twelve, attractive, withdrawn
The student is a 12-year-old girl who is attractive yet distant
In a midnight blue school uniform
She is wearing a dark blue school uniform
Lips just a little too full for her face
Her lips are slightly bigger than her face can handle
Distant eyes full of space
She has faraway eyes that seem lost in thought
In her posture no trace of coquette
She is not trying to be seductive or flirtatious in her body language
No defiance
She is obedient and compliant
She fingers the frets looking forlorn
She plays the guitar with a sad expression
Crossing her legs where her tights have been torn
Her tights are ripped and she crosses her legs, exposing the tear
Starts as her mother comes into the room
She is startled when her mother enters the room
And the afternoon grows still
Everything becomes quiet and still in the room
And her mother feels chill
The mother feels a sudden coldness in the room
Shivers and buttons her coat
The mother gets cold and buttons her coat up
I gently correct the curve of her back
The teacher adjusts her posture by gently correcting the curve of her back
And open her book in the now-empty flat
He opens her book in the empty space they are in
At the classical piece I've had her prepare
He asks her to play a classical piece he had her practice
And her arms are bare as she plays
She plays with her arms exposed
And I draw back behind her ear
He pulls her hair back slightly from behind her ear
A few strands of hair gone astray
Some hair strands fall in front of her face
She shows me her bracelet, the lesson is done
She shows him her bracelet, indicating the guitar lesson is over
I turn it around between finger and thumb
He rotates the bracelet between his fingers
We sit face to face and it seems to me that
The teacher and student sit facing each other
Her face is the face of a cat
She has a feline face, resembling a cat
And touching the place where her breasts will be
He touches the area where her breasts will develop
I press my hand flat
He flattens his hand on her chest
She comes into my lap, I turn her around
She sits on his lap and he turns her to face away from him
Her hands clasp my neck and her feet skim the ground
She wraps her arms around his neck as her feet touch the ground
Her skirt travels up under my palm
Her skirt rides up, exposing her thighs
But the pupil sits looking so calm
The student remains composed and relaxed
As if listening to the distant sound
She appears to be distracted by another sound
Of a burglar alarm
The sound she is focusing on is compared to a burglar alarm
What happened next it's hard to recall
It becomes difficult to remember what occurred next
The guitar lesson left no traces at all
The guitar lesson had no physical evidence of what happened
Now, from afar, it seems to resemble
From a distance, it appears to look like
A strange composition in oil
A peculiar painting made with oil paints
Of a man, a guitar, and an innocent little girl
The painting features a man, guitar, and a young girl who appears innocent
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NICHOLAS JOHN CURRIE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aldo Charles
on Morality Is Vanity
I’ve been listening to this song last two weeks.