Growing up in Harrow, London, Nash first became interested in music during her childhood when she learned to play the piano. She attended St. John Fisher school and moved on to the St. Joan of Arc School in Rickmansworth. Her talents were harnessed further when she wrote songs for her GCSE in Music and her time studying at the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon, South London. However, her first love was acting and so in 2005 she made moves to start a career in acting by auditioning at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and was rejected. After her rejection she fell down a flight of stairs, breaking her foot. During her recovery Nash was unable to go anywhere and found solace in song writing. She began to write some new songs, finished old ones and decided that she would book herself a gig at a local bar to showcase her songs. From this experience she decided to start a career in music.
Nash's early live performances saw her play a number of cover versions. After a few gigs, Nash uploaded her music to the popular website MySpace. Her music soon began to receive support from users of the site and Nash found herself a manager, proceeding to look for producers.
Fellow MySpace star Lily Allen has stated that she believes Nash is the "next big thing", and she has also garnered support from publications such as Vogue and NME, the latter dubbing her as "chavtronica". Nash has been compared to Lily Allen, because of their storytelling lyrics, the dry sense of humour that fuels their songs as well as distinctive London accents. Some people have commented that Nash sounds like Catherine Tate when she sings. Others have compared some of her songs to music by Regina Spektor.
Nash has stated that her biggest influence has been Regina Spektor and has an extensive list of influences on her myspace page. Some of her influences include, "London, punk, Bored Teenagers and John Cooper Clarke".
Nash's début release was a double-A side single released through independent record label Moshi Moshi in February 2007. The release was limited to 1000 copies and was available on only 7" vinyl. The first A-side, "Caroline's a Victim", is a synth-fuelled song about Nash's friend Caroline. A video for the song was released and received notable airplay on MTV2. The video, directed by Kinga Burza, featured Nash playing a variety of instruments at the same time that "Caroline" sits in her room "playing killer beats", taking photographs, trying on different outfits and sitting at her computer checking a social networking website.
The second A-side to the single was "Birds", an acoustic number that tells the story of a boy's inept attempts to try and explain to his girlfriend how he feels about her, all the while the girl remains despondent about the situation.
During the promotion for "Caroline's a Victim"/"Birds", Nash supported Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly on his national tour before embarking on her own headlining tour, which took her around the UK.
In April 2007, Nash was signed to the Polydor offshoot Fiction Records. A month later, Nash was mocked through a parody of her song, "Caroline's a Victim" entitled "LDN Is A Victim". The song mocked Nash and Lily Allen, amongst others, for singing in a Cockney-drawl, despite their privileged backgrounds.
Nash's second single and first through Fiction Records, "Foundations", which she co-wrote with producer Paul Epworth, was released on June 25, 2007 and reached number two in the official UK Singles Chart.
Following "Foundations", Fiction announced plans to bring forward the release of Nash's debut album to August 6, 2007. The album, Made of Bricks, produced by Paul Epworth, included many of the tracks she had been performing on her two nationwide tours. The album was leaked to filesharing networks days before its commercial release, and has received mixed reviews, The Independent describing it as being in "pole position for worst album of the year." The album reached number 1 in the UK charts.
During mid-2007, Nash performed at numerous festivals including Wireless Festival, Bestival, the Electric Gardens, Glastonbury, Latitude, Reading and Leeds, Oxegen and T in the Park. She made her official TV performance debut on Later with Jools Holland.
Nash features on rapper Kano's album London Town, in a song titled "Me & My Microphone". She is also featured in the song "Look What You've Done" from Lethal Bizzle's latest album, Back To Bizznizz.
Regarding the recording of a new album, Nash told NME that she had been inspired by The Supremes and has written a song called "Cat Song" in their honour. She is also set to release a duet single with Billy Bragg, a cover of The Shangri-Las "Give Storey A Great Big Kiss".
On 20 February 2008 she received a BRIT award for Best Female artist.
In April 2010 she released her sophomore album in 'My Best Friend Is You". With the singles "Do-Wah-Doo" and "Kiss that Grrrl" following close behind.
You Were So Far Away
Kate Nash Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now I can almost touch
I can taste the metal
Feel the gun in my mouth
Who will change my life?
How can I trust?
Who will break my heart?
And how can I rest as I must?
His leg twitches, he looks up
Which one will he fuck?
Takes her by the hand and smiles
you are mine tonight,
Forget about the smell
Leave yourself behind
There is something in the air
That reminds you of your life
You used to be so far away
Now I can almost touch
I can taste the metal
Feel the gun in my mouth
Who will change my life?
How can I trust?
Who will break my heart?
And how can I rest as I must?
The opening lyrics of Kate Nash's song, "You Were So Far Away," paint a picture of desperation and helplessness. The singer seems to be in a dark place, as evidenced by the line "Feel the gun in my mouth," which suggests a desire for some form of escape or release. The questions that follow - "Who will change my life? How can I trust? Who will break my heart? And how can I rest as I must?" - are similarly anguished and uncertain, suggesting a sense of being adrift in the world without any clear sense of direction or purpose.
The second verse introduces a new character - a man who seems to be offering the singer some kind of distraction or escape from their troubles. However, there is a sense of unease and discomfort throughout these lyrics, particularly in lines like "Forget about the smell" (suggesting perhaps that the setting is a particularly unpleasant or dangerous one). The mention of "something in the air" further underscores the sense of unease, turning what could be a moment of connection into something darker and more ominous.
Taken together, these lyrics suggest a world that is full of danger and uncertainty, and in which the singer is struggling to find a sense of safety, connection, and meaning. The repeated refrain of "You used to be so far away / Now I can almost touch / I can taste the metal / Feel the gun in my mouth" underscores the sense of being trapped or hemmed in, and the desire for some kind of escape or release.
Line by Line Meaning
You used to be so far away
He was distant and unattainable in the past
Now I can almost touch
He has become more accessible and within reach
I can taste the metal
She senses and fears the danger that comes with his presence
Feel the gun in my mouth
Metaphorically speaking, she feels trapped and powerless in his presence
Who will change my life?
She is looking for someone to bring change into her life
How can I trust?
She is struggling to trust others, especially him
Who will break my heart?
She is aware of the possibility of being hurt and is unsure of who will do it
And how can I rest as I must?
She cannot relax or let her guard down around him
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: KATE MARIE NASH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind