Born on born 9th January 1987 in Paisley, Scotland, his father is of Italian descent and his mother Glaswegian, although his father's family have been in Scotland for four generations. Nutini had no formal music training, and was expecting to follow his father into the family fish and chip shop business. He was first encouraged to sing by his music-loving grandfather and a teacher at his school who recognised his talent. He left school to work as a roadie and to sell T-shirts for Speedway and spent three years learning the music business, performing live, alone and with a band, and working as a studio hand at Glasgow's Park Lane Studio.
His big chance came when he attended a concert for David Sneddon's return to his home town of Paisley at the beginning of 2003. Sneddon was delayed, and as the winner of an impromptu pop quiz, Nutini was given the chance to perform a couple of songs on stage during the wait. The favourable reaction of the crowd impressed another member of the audience, who offered to become his manager.
A Daily Record journalist, John Dingwall, saw him performing at the Queen Margaret Union, and invited him to appear live on Radio Scotland. Still only seventeen, he moved to London, and performed regularly at the Bedford pub in Balham whilst still legally too young to drink alcohol himself. Other radio and live appearances followed, including two live acoustic spots on Radio London, The Hard Rock Cafe, and support slots for Amy Winehouse and KT Tunstall.
His debut album, These Streets, produced by Ken Nelson (Coldplay/Gomez), was released on 17th July 2006, and immediately entered the U.K. album charts at number three. Many of the songs on the album, including "Last Request" and "Rewind", were inspired by a turbulent relationship with a girlfriend, and "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" is a true story about encounters with an older woman.
On 29th May 2009 Nutini released his second studio album, Sunny Side Up, after the first single from that album, "Candy", was released on 18th May. In July, he appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, performing "Coming Up Easy". This was released as the second single from the album on 10th August.
Iron Sky
Paolo Nutini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the flames couldn't go much higher
We find gods and religions to
To paint us with salvation
But no one
No nobody
Can give you the power
To rise over love
And over hate
Through this iron sky
That's fast becoming our minds
Over fear and into freedom
Oh, that's life
Left dripping down the walls
Of a dream that cannot breathe
In this harsh reality
Mass confusion spoon fed to the blind
Serves now to define our cold society
From which we'll rise over love
Over hate
From this iron sky
That's fast becoming our minds
Over fear and into freedom
You just got to hold on!
You just got to hold on!
Oh oh oh oh
(To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed
The bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die
And the power they took from the people will return to the people
And so long as men die, liberty will never perish
Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men
Machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!
You are not machines, you are not cattle, you are men!
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful
To make this life a wonderful adventure
Let us use that power!
Let us all unite!)
And we'll rise over love
And over hate
Through this iron sky
That's fast becoming our minds
Over fear
And into freedom
Into freedom!
From which we'll rise over love
And over hate
Through this iron sky
That's fast becoming our minds
Over fear and into freedom
Freedom!
Oh, from which we'll rise over love
And over hate
Through this iron sky
That's fast becoming our minds
Over fear and into freedom
Freedom!
Freedom!
Rain on me!
Rain on me!
The song "Iron Sky" by Paolo Nutini is a powerful and thought-provoking piece that speaks of the struggles of modern society. It begins with the idea of individuality and how humans always strive to be unique and different from each other, but eventually, everyone becomes like the "iron sky," which refers to a mindset that is fast becoming our minds. The verse further delves into the idea of seeking salvation and painting ourselves with different religions and gods, but in the end, no one can give you the power to rise above love and hate.
The chorus of the song drives home the idea of rising above fear and into freedom. The lyrics compare life to being left dripping down the walls of a dream that cannot breathe. However, despite the mass confusion that people are spoon-fed daily, we are told to hold on to the idea that we have the power to rise above anything – love, hate, or fear – and move into freedom. The song ends with a powerful message of hope, urging people to use their power to make life free, beautiful and a wonderful adventure.
Line by Line Meaning
We are proud individuals living on the city
We are a group of people who are proud, living in the city.
But the flames couldn't go much higher
Despite the struggles we face, things couldn't get any worse.
We find gods and religions to
We seek various gods and religions to
To paint us with salvation
Find ways to provide us with salvation and hope.
But no one
However,
No nobody
Absolutely no one
Can give you the power
Can grant you the power.
To rise over love
To rise above love,
And over hate
As well as hatred
Through this iron sky
As we struggle through this situation
That's fast becoming our minds
That seems to be overtaking our minds
Over fear and into freedom
Looking to overcome fear and enter freedom.
Oh, that's life
This is what life is
Left dripping down the walls
Stuck on the walls
Of a dream that cannot breathe
Of a dream that has no life or energy
In this harsh reality
In the cruel reality that we live in
Mass confusion spoon fed to the blind
Confusion and misinformation spread to those who are ignorant.
Serves now to define our cold society
This serves to describe the cold nature of our society.
From which we'll rise over love
We will triumph over love
Over hate
As well as hatred
From this iron sky
In the midst of this difficult situation
That's fast becoming our minds
That is gradually encompassing our thoughts
Over fear and into freedom
Transitioning from fear to freedom.
You just got to hold on!
You just need to hold on!
Oh oh oh oh
Vocalization
(To those who can hear me, I say, do not despair
(To those who can hear me, I say, do not give up hope.
The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed
The current pain we experience is only temporary and because of greed.
The bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress
The bitterness of men who are afraid of how humanity is evolving
The hate of men will pass, and dictators die
The hate that men have will go away, and dictators will die.
And the power they took from the people will return to the people
The people's power, which they lost, will come back to them.
And so long as men die, liberty will never perish
As long as people continue to fight for liberty, it will never go away.
Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men
Do not let these artificial men take control of your lives.
Machine men with machine minds and machine hearts!
These artificial men have no soul or emotion!
You are not machines, you are not cattle, you are men!
You are not just machines or animals - you are humans!
You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful
The people have the power to create a world that is free and beautiful.
To make this life a wonderful adventure
To turn this life into an amazing adventure.
Let us use that power!
Let's use that power!
Let us all unite!)
Let's all come together!
And we'll rise over love
We will overcome love
And over hate
As well as hatred
Through this iron sky
Through our struggles
That's fast becoming our minds
That is taking over our minds quickly
Over fear
Rising above fear
And into freedom
Entering freedom.
Into freedom!
Into freedom!
Oh, from which we'll rise over love
We'll triumph over love
Through this iron sky
Despite our struggles
That's fast becoming our minds
That is overtaking our thoughts
Over fear and into freedom
Rising above fear and entering freedom.
Freedom!
Freedom!
Rain on me!
Vocalization
Rain on me!
Vocalization
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID NELSON, CHARLIE CHAPLIN, PAOLO NUTINI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind