Pallot was born in London, but spent most of her childhood on the island of Jersey. Her mother is from India, whilst her father is native born from Jersey. Early in life, she spent some time living in India, but spent most of her early school years in Jersey. From there she won a scholarship to Wellington College, a famous military public school in England. Her time at this school provides much of the personal inspiration behind her single Everybody’s Gone to War as several of her school friends were directly involved in the Iraq war.
Nerina Pallot is classically trained in singing and piano, and then engaged in a peripatetic career around the fringes of the music industry. Outside these various industry-related jobs, Nerina Pallot was an active part-time musician with an ambition to follow a career in performing and song writing. At some point her career took her to her favourite job of this time, as PA to the music industry executive Andrew King; a key figure in the management of Pink Floyd from its earliest days. Still following her ambition to pursue a musical career, Pallot signed to Polydor in her mid-20s, despite misgivings from Andrew King. This signing resulted in the release of an album containing self-penned songs; the ironically titled Dear Frustrated Superstar (2001). However, singles released from this album failed to make a sales mark as did the album. Following this, Nerina Pallot was dropped by Polydor among some bitter recriminations which are documented on her web site. This experience was later to lead to the writing of Mr. King, a touching, and very probably unique tribute to a senior music industry executive.
Following this episode, Nerina Pallot returned to University to study English with a partially formed plan to become an English teacher. However, during her studies she rekindled a love of lyrical English and started to write again. The song Idaho came from this period, using the state as a metaphor for the place where she wanted to actively steer her life, rather than just letting it drift. Idaho, Mr. King, and Everybody’s Gone to War became three of the tracks that made up her second album Fires. This was, in part, financed by money from her publishers, Chrysalis, who had remained faithful, and partly through re-mortgaging her home. As important was the extensive good-will and contacts that she could call upon within the industry in both London and Los Angeles. The eventual album was released under her own label Idaho which, despite rave reviews, failed to make significant sales headway. This, and subsequent activities, lead to an early termination of her degree course, but she has expressed a desire to complete it.
Nerina Pallot persisted by extensively touring the country, and sometimes Europe, supporting acts such as Missy Higgins, Sheryl Crow, James Blunt, Suzanne Vega, Joseph Arthur, and Ray LaMontagne. This, and a very active and acerbic presence on MySpace resulted in a considerable word-of-mouth following. Typical of many of her contemporary artists in the Internet world, she is strongly supported by a group of dedicated fans, connected via so-called social networking sites. Nerina Pallot also benefits from support within influential parts of the media including the BBC.
Eventually this activity and support resulted in Nerina Pallot being signed to the Warner label 14th Floor who specialise in promoting acts with a partially established following. Fires received a slight makeover, and was re-released under the 14th Floor label. Everybody’s Gone to War was released as a single with a video filmed in a Los Angeles supermarket in the style of a Hollywood war film, save being staged as a “food-fight”. A second single, a remixed Sophia, was released in early October 2006. Learning to Breathe is to be released in early 2007 as the third single under the 14th Floor label.
During the summer of 2006 Nerina appeared at many music festivals, promotional and charity events. For the autumn months she is touring intensively in the UK and Europe as a headline act.
During her early 2007 tour of the UK and Ireland, Nerina Pallot reprised several songs from her Dear Frustrated Superstar period, possibly marking a coming to terms with a dark period in her career.
In 2007 Nerina Pallot was nominated for a Brit Award in the Best British Female category won by Amy Winehouse. Such was the unexpected nature of this nomination to her, that she had already set the date, St. Valentine’s day 2007 for her marriage to the music video producer Andrew Chatterley, both briefly leaving the reception in London for the award show.
Nerina Pallot released her third studio album "The Graduate" in 2009, on her own label. Nerina worked with many writers for the album but when it came down to the final tracklist only Pallot written material has made the cut. She wrote in her blog that she had approximately 60 viable songs. The album title refers to Pallot's 2009 graduation from university with a first-class honours English Literature degree.
Nerina Pallot and her husband Andy Chatterly wrote the title track and third single, "Better Than Today" from Kylie Minogue's 2010 studio album, "Aphrodite". Pallot signed with Geffon Records and released "Year Of The Wolf" in 2011. The album's title comes from her son, Wolfie, with whom she was pregnant during the recording of the album. Lead single "Put Your Hands Up" was originally written for Kylie Minogue.
Bloom
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you wish your life would go another way?
When I grew up I thought I'd be a 99-piece symphony
But I'm whistling in the wilderness alone
I close my eyes and dare to hope
That I'm gonna bloom
Know that we'll do it, too
There's nothing that I can't do
It's never too late
Never too late to bloom
When winter came we slept the season through
In barren lands all given to the gloom
With healthy hearts we persevered and made it through another year
Adapting to the promises we broke
We close our eyes and dare to hope
That we're gonna bloom
We know that we'll do it, too
We're gonna bloom
There's nothing that we can't do
We know what we are
We know what we're not
It's never too late
It's never too late to bloom
Come on and bloom now
The whole world's looking over your shoulder
The whole world's looking out for you
The whole world's looking over your shoulder
Wondering what you're gonna do
We close our eyes and dare to hope
That we're gonna bloom
Know that we'll do it too
We're gonna bloom
There's nothing that we can't do
We know what we are
We know what we're not
It's never too late
To love what you've got
It's never too late
Never too late to bloom
Come on, come on, come on, come on, and bloom
Come on, come on, come on, come on, let's bloom
In "Bloom", Nerina Pallot contemplates the fleeting nature of life and the choices we make that shape our paths. The opening lines "As everything and anything just fades, do you wish your life would go another way?" portray a sense of disillusionment and regret for not living up to one's full potential. The reference to being a "99-piece symphony" hints at the grand ambitions Pallot had as a young person, but now finds herself "whistling in the wilderness alone."
However, the chorus offers a glimmer of hope as Pallot closes her eyes and "dare to hope" that she will bloom. She encourages the listener to do the same, reminding them that "there's nothing that we can't do" and it's never too late to find one's purpose and flower into something beautiful. The bridge highlights the pressure of the outside world, with "the whole world looking over your shoulder" and wondering what you will do. Nevertheless, Pallot remains hopeful that in spite of this, we can still bloom and achieve our dreams.
"Bloom" is a life-affirming anthem that encourages listeners to persevere through difficult times and embrace their potential. The song acknowledges the challenges and disappointments that life can bring but ultimately offers a message of hope and resilience.
Line by Line Meaning
As everything and anything just fades
As everything in life fades away, do you regret your past choices?
Do you wish your life would go another way?
Are you unsatisfied with the way your life is going and desire a different path?
When I grew up I thought I'd be a 99-piece symphony
When I was younger, I had grandiose dreams of achieving greatness and thought I would be part of something larger than myself.
But I'm whistling in the wilderness alone
But now I feel like I am alone and insignificant.
I close my eyes and dare to hope
I believe in myself and have optimism for the future.
That I'm gonna bloom
That I am going to reach my full potential and flourish.
Know that we'll do it, too
I am confident that others will also achieve their goals and reach their potential.
There's nothing that I can't do
I believe that I am capable of anything I set my mind to.
It's never too late
There is always time to make positive changes in your life and achieve your goals.
When winter came we slept the season through
When times got tough, we hibernated and waited for better days.
In barren lands all given to the gloom
During difficult times, everything seemed hopeless and bleak.
With healthy hearts we persevered and made it through another year
Despite the challenges, we remained emotionally strong and kept going.
Adapting to the promises we broke
We made the necessary changes and adjusted our expectations based on what we could realistically achieve.
We know what we are
We are confident in our identity and what we stand for.
We know what we're not
We are self-aware of our limitations and what we do not represent.
To love what you've got
It's important to appreciate what we already have and be grateful for it.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, and bloom
Encouragement to take action and reach our full potential.
Come on, come on, come on, come on, let's bloom
An invitation for people to come together and support one another in achieving success.
Contributed by Wyatt D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.