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.
Dear Frustrated Superstar
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To whisk you off to your new premiere
And all the friends who knew your name
Are waiting, wondering what became
Of the girl that they once knew but never loved
They never loved.
So every city tells the lie
Of all these things, then what am I?
A princess in a threadbare gown,
A gaudy, painted circus clown?
A child who lost her key and can't get home?
All the things I never was
A traitor in the Western Wars
A girl who did it just because.
Do or die, or don't at all
Prepare to suffer for your call
Some things have to hurt or they're not true.
They can't be true
When you die, you'll wonder, "was that it?"
Will you think of how you'd wished you lived?
Well, you're here now
Yes you're here now.
So I only want to be up there
With a hundred others, I don't care
Cause I'm here now
Yes I'm here now.
Papers, books, philosophy
An envelopes eternity
I count each passing minute, hour, day
Wonder how I smile so well,
Wonder how they never tell
There's really no one living here at all.
So here a line from God's own song
To comfort you when things go wrong
My children never visit anymore.
Go searching in my sky at night
They must be there to set alight
Their mothers aching heart is so unsure
I'm so unsure
When you die, you'll wonder, "was that it?"
Will you think of how you'd wished you lived?
Well, you're here now
Yes you're here now.
So I only want to be up there
With a hundred others, I don't care
Cause I'm here now
Yes I'm here now.
Dear Frustrated Superstar, I really hope you get that far
If not, I hope you live
I hope you live.
The song "Dear Frustrated Superstar" by Nerina Pallot is a poignant reminder that success and fame do not equal happiness or fulfillment. The lyrics address someone who may have once been a rising star, but who now feels lost and alone, yearning for acceptance and validation. The first verse mentions the subject's mother waiting in the car to take her to a new premiere, which implies that she is still pursuing her dream of fame and success, but her old friends "never loved" her and her career has left her feeling empty and unfulfilled.
The second verse encompasses the feelings of inadequacy that often come with success. The subject compares herself to a "princess in a threadbare gown" and a "gaudy, painted circus clown," feeling like a fraud who is somehow not enough. The repeated refrain of "all the things I never was" speaks to the disappointment that comes with unfulfilled expectations and feelings of unworthiness. The song also touches on the idea that sometimes, in order to create something real and authentic, it has to come from a place of pain, as expressed in the line "some things have to hurt or they're not true."
The last few verses of the song offer a message of hope and encouragement. The line "I hope you live" is a powerful reminder that even if success and fame are not achieved, there is still value in living a fulfilling life. The song ends on an uplifting note, with the subject expressing a desire to be on stage again, not for the fame or validation, but for the joy of creating and sharing an experience with others.
Line by Line Meaning
Dear Frustrated Superstar, your mother's waiting in the car
You may be famous, but to your mother, you're still her child.
And all the friends who knew your name
Are waiting, wondering what became
Of the girl that they once knew but never loved
They never loved.
Your old friends may be interested in your life as a celebrity, but they don't genuinely care about you as a person.
So every city tells the lie
Of beggars, tramps and butterflies
Of all these things, then what am I?
A princess in a threadbare gown,
A gaudy, painted circus clown?
A child who lost her key and can't get home?
Cities are full of contradictions and false appearances, and that's how the singer feels about her own existence as a celebrity who doesn't feel like she belongs in that world.
All the things I never was
A traitor in the Western Wars
A girl who did it just because.
Do or die, or don't at all
Prepare to suffer for your call
Some things have to hurt or they're not true.
They can't be true
The artist has never been certain about who she is or what she stands for, and believes that if something doesn't hurt or cause struggle, it can't be true or worthwhile.
When you die, you'll wonder, "was that it?"
Will you think of how you'd wished you lived?
Well, you're here now
Yes you're here now.
So I only want to be up there
With a hundred others, I don't care
Cause I'm here now
Yes I'm here now.
We all wonder about the meaning of our existence and whether we're really living or just surviving, but the artist is determined to make the most of her time in the spotlight.
Papers, books, philosophy
An envelopes eternity
I count each passing minute, hour, day
Wonder how I smile so well,
Wonder how they never tell
There's really no one living here at all.
The singer feels trapped and isolated by the celebrity lifestyle, and wonders how her public persona can seem so put-together when her private self is lost and alone.
So here a line from God's own song
To comfort you when things go wrong
My children never visit anymore.
Go searching in my sky at night
They must be there to set alight
Their mothers aching heart is so unsure
I'm so unsure
The singer imagines a shared longing between God and mothers who feel abandoned or forgotten by their famous children.
Dear Frustrated Superstar, I really hope you get that far
If not, I hope you live
I hope you live.
The artist acknowledges the struggles and pressures of living as a celebrity, but ultimately wishes for the listener to find happiness and satisfaction in whatever path they take in life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Nerina Pallot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind