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.
How Do We Cope
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's been sickening, sickening, sickening me
Maybe this, maybe that, maybe yes, maybe I don't know
Maybe you shouldn't say things that you don't believe
You say you feel it
But I don't really think that you mean it, no
But how do we cope, how do we cope, how do we cope?
I know this, know this, know this much for the asking
I see things that nobody else ever sees
And it's so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful darling
But just you, just you, just get away from me
We say we're sinking
Lets your lover out from thinking straight
But how do we cope, how do we cope, how do we cope?
How do we cope, how do we cope, how do we cope?
How do we cope when the light is failing?
How do we know what way to go?
'Cause my heart beats like an express train
I don't know if I'll be back again
But I don't know where to go
I don't know where to go
I don't know where to go
How do we cope, how do we cope, how do we cope?
How do we cope, how do we cope, how do we cope?
Tell me, tell me, how do we cope when the light is failing?
And how do we know what way to go, what way to go?
How do we cope?
Nerina Pallot's song "How Do We Cope" is a reflective piece about facing the challenges of life and not knowing how to deal with them. The song speaks to the strain of uncertainty and confusion in difficult times. The use of "thinking things over" and "sickening me" shows the emotional turmoil that one goes through when trying to find answers. The repeated line of "maybe this, maybe that, maybe yes, maybe I don't know" indicates the lack of clarity and desperation in trying to find answers.
The chorus poses the question of how to cope with difficult situations. The repetition of the phrase "How do we cope" brings attention to the central theme of the song. The line "You say you feel it, but I don't really think that you mean it" is a common feeling in difficult times when hearing from people who try to offer encouragement but cannot truly understand the struggles one is facing.
The song ends with the singer expressing her confusion about where to go and how to cope. The use of "my heart beats like an express train" shows the intensity of the emotion running through the singer's mind. Overall, the song portrays the struggle of facing difficult situations without a clear direction, and the feeling of being lost in the chaos of life.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been thinking things, thinking things, thinking things over
I've been pondering and reflecting on some things that have been on my mind lately
It's been sickening, sickening, sickening me
It's been making me feel nauseous and unwell
Maybe this, maybe that, maybe yes, maybe I don't know
I'm considering a range of possibilities and I'm uncertain about which is the right one
Maybe you shouldn't say things that you don't believe
Perhaps you should not make statements about things you do not truly believe
You say you feel it
You claim to be experiencing a particular emotion
But I don't really think that you mean it, no
However, I'm skeptical about whether you genuinely feel that way
But how do we cope, how do we cope, how do we cope?
But regardless of whether we truly feel certain emotions, how do we deal with challenging situations?
I know this, know this, know this much for the asking
I am confident and certain about one thing in particular
I see things that nobody else ever sees
I have insights and perspectives that are unique to me and that others may not have considered before
And it's so beautiful, beautiful, beautiful darling
These insights are something I treasure and value deeply
But just you, just you, just get away from me
However, sometimes these insights can be overwhelming and I need space from others
We say we're sinking
We tell ourselves that we're struggling and overwhelmed
Lets your lover out from thinking straight
This can cause confusion and cloud our judgment, especially when it comes to matters of love
Tell me, tell me, how do we cope when the light is failing?
How do we handle difficult situations or emotions when things seem dark and hopeless?
And how do we know what way to go, what way to go?
How do we make the right decisions and take the most positive course of action when we're feeling lost or uncertain?
How do we cope?
Ultimately, how do we manage tough times and setbacks in our lives?
Contributed by Christopher G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.