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.
Boy On the Bus
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Delicate hands at that difficult age.
Clutching so hard at a plastic bag
A masterpiece in bone and rag.
Inaminate ghosts on the 46,
The wizened trees look like pick-up sticks.
Everybody said "she's a generous girl"
Sweet defeat, I wanna leave the city so bad!
Dog tired on my feet, I wanna leave the city so bad.
Take everything that we own, turn the lights off and go
And never look back.
You just say the word, the word
I won't say no.
I dunno, but I've noticed you
Ain't been walking that way with our boy, it's true
Everywhere you look it's burial ground
Every swirling eddy where your dreams get drowned
They get drowned.
Sweet defeat, I wanna leave the city so bad!
Dog tired on my feet, I wanna leave the city so bad.
Take everything that we own, turn the lights off and go
And never look back.
You just say the word, the word, the word
The word.
Sweet defeat, I wanna leave the city so bad!
Dog tired on my feet, I wanna leave the city so bad.
All the lonely streets, I wanna leave the city so bad.
Dog tired on my feet, on my feet,
I wanna leave, I wanna leave, I wanna leave, yeah
Take everything that we own, turn the lights off and go
And never look back, never look back.
Everything that we own, turn the lights off and go
And never look back.
You just say the word, the word
You just say the word, the word
I won't say no.
Boy on the bus, boy on the bus, boy on the bus
I won't say no
The song "Boy on the Bus" by Nerina Pallot tells the story of a young boy who is seen on a bus carrying a plastic bag with delicate hands. The lyrics suggest that he may be going through a difficult time at that age. The singer then shifts her attention to the surroundings, describing the inactive ghosts on the same bus and the wizened trees that look like pick-up sticks. The lyrics then move on to describe a tragic incident of a generous girl who is found dead in a canal. The lovers in the song feel defeated and dream of leaving the city behind without looking back. The repeated line "Sweet defeat, I wanna leave the city so bad!" conveys the feeling of hopelessness and despair. The song ends with the singer saying she won't say no to leaving the city.
The song reflects on the struggles of growing up and the burdens that people carry. The boy on the bus, the ghosts, the trees, and the dead girl are all symbolic of the challenges one faces in life. The singer feels trapped living in the city and wants to run away from it all without ever looking back. The song depicts a sense of hopelessness, but at the same time, the repeating line "You just say the word, I won't say no" conveys the idea of a glimmer of hope that might come from a gesture of togetherness. The song is about wanting to leave a life that becomes too much to bear for something new and hopeful.
Line by Line Meaning
Boy on the bus with the startled face,
A young boy sits on the bus looking worried and shocked.
Delicate hands at that difficult age.
Despite his youth, the boy's hands show a fragile and uncertain quality.
Clutching so hard at a plastic bag
A masterpiece in bone and rag.
The boy clings tightly to a disposable bag that he views as his prized possession.
Inanimate ghosts on the 46,
The wizened trees look like pick-up sticks.
The bus travels down a road that seems bleak and lifeless, with trees that appear shriveled and useless.
Everybody said "she's a generous girl"
Now they're pulling up her body from the black canal.
People previously spoke favorably about a girl named "she", but now she has died and authorities are pulling her lifeless body from the river.
Sweet defeat, I wanna leave the city so bad!
Dog tired on my feet, I wanna leave the city so bad.
Take everything that we own, turn the lights off and go
And never look back.
You just say the word, the word
I won't say no.
The singer expresses deep frustration and exhaustion with their current life in the city, and longs to start anew with a clear break from their past.
I dunno, but I've noticed you
Ain't been walking that way with our boy, it's true
Everywhere you look it's burial ground
Every swirling eddy where your dreams get drowned
They get drowned.
In a conversation with someone close to her, the singer observes that they haven't been spending as much time with their son, and comments on how the environment seems to constantly bring despair and extinguish any hope for improvement.
All the lonely streets, I wanna leave the city so bad.
Dog tired on my feet, on my feet,
I wanna leave, I wanna leave, I wanna leave, yeah
Take everything that we own, turn the lights off and go
And never look back, never look back.
Everything that we own, turn the lights off and go
And never look back.
You just say the word, the word
You just say the word, the word
I won't say no.
Boy on the bus, boy on the bus, boy on the bus
I won't say no
The artist reiterates her desire to leave the city behind, including all her material possessions, and emphasizes her willingness to do so if someone close to her agrees to the plan. The final line refers to the boy on the bus, who serves as a symbol of escaping from one's current state of being.
Contributed by Charlie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Froggie Morton
I saw The Goldfinch film last night and was immediately reminded of this brilliant song. I was hoping the song would be playing during the bus ride to NYC scenes, but, alas, no such luck. Thank you for this, Nerina.
Jo Gray
Love this song! Nerina you are amazing singer song writer. Loved your songs since I heard you open for semisonic in Glasgow..... You must've been good cos I remembered your name lol
Bouwe Bear
the word..the word is the bridge raises this song to another level.
julia Swag
THE GOLDFINCHHH