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.
God
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the darkness in his soul.
And God made man, the only way he can,
But for a heart he left a hole
And it's killing you
And it's killing me too
Are we failing the truth?
I'm betting on desire, I'm betting on deceit
I'm betting on disaster in every living hour.
Would you burn your fingers if you touched God?
Will he let you in if you have or not?
Once my friend, I loved you as a child
Kissed your face before I slept.
Be in my head, and with me when I sleep
In the bloodied tears he wept.
And it's killing you
And it's killing me too
Are we failing the truth?
I'm betting on indifference, I'm betting on belief
I'm thinking of a beauty where ev'rything's complete
I'm betting on a laughter, a very distant star
Would you burn your fingers if you touched God?
Will he let you in if you have or not?
And it's killing you
And it's killing me too
Are we failing the truth in everything we do?
Are we failing the truth?
I'm betting on desire, I'm betting on deceit
I'm betting on a moment where everything is sweet
I'm thinking of the beauty I love with all my heart
Would you burn your fingers if you touched God?
Will he let you in if you have or not?
Will he let you in?
Nerina Pallot's song "God" is a contemplative piece about the complexity of belief and the struggle with understanding the nature of a higher power. The lyrics suggest a sense of confusion around the idea of God being both good and having darkness in his soul, and the paradox of his creation of man with a missing piece - a heart. The lines "And it's killing you, and it's killing me too, are we failing the truth?" implies a sense of frustration and desperation to find answers about a topic that can often be seen as intangible and elusive.
Line by Line Meaning
God is good, I never understood
I find it difficult to comprehend the goodness attributed to God
All the darkness in his soul.
I question the morality of God and the existence of evil in this world
And God made man, the only way he can,
God created human beings in the only way that he could
But for a heart he left a hole
However, human beings seem to have a missing piece that they must try and fill
And it's killing you
This emptiness can be agonizing
And it's killing me too
It affects me as well
Are we failing the truth?
Are we not living in reality?
I'm betting on desire, I'm betting on deceit
I am relying on my own wants and lies rather than the truth
I'm betting on a moment when everything is sweet
I am hoping for a time when things will be easier
I'm betting on disaster in every living hour.
I am expecting the worst to happen all the time
Would you burn your fingers if you touched God?
Would getting close to God be too dangerous?
Will he let you in if you have or not?
Will God accept someone who has strayed away from Him?
Once my friend, I loved you as a child
At one point, I felt close to God and believed in Him
Kissed your face before I slept.
I used to say my prayers before going to bed
Be in my head, and with me when I sleep
I wish to feel God's presence in my everyday life
In the bloodied tears he wept.
I ponder the suffering that God must have experienced in creating this world
I'm betting on indifference, I'm betting on belief
At times, I have faith in God, but at other times, I feel apathetic towards Him
I'm thinking of a beauty where ev'rything's complete
I envision a perfect world where things make sense
I'm betting on a laughter, a very distant star
I wish to experience joy, even though it seems far away
And it's killing you
The world's imperfections and God's absence can cause great pain
And it's killing me too
It affects me deeply as well
Are we failing the truth in everything we do?
Are we actively denying reality and truth in everything we do?
I'm thinking of the beauty I love with all my heart
I am trying to focus on the aspects of life that bring me joy and love
Will he let you in?
Will God forgive us and accept us into His presence?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Nerina Pallot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Flincher14
I've been searching endlessly for this song, Nerina Pallot is something special to me and all her fans.
twelve2001
and its killing you and its killing me too... i really feel this song right now..i'm betting on desire and betting on deceit
twelve2001
i think she's speaking with god in a time of her life when she's feeling lost and she's asking him how things have turned out so badly
stefwoj
you and me to mate she is a genius xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Cannonfodd
I agree ^^
Wayne Marriott
February Mid lockdown 2021. Who listening this year?