Nerina Pallot (pronounced pal-oh in the French style) (b. 1975) is a London… Read Full Bio ↴Nerina Pallot (pronounced pal-oh in the French style) (b. 1975) is a London-based recording artist.

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.

If I Know You
Nerina Pallot Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well it could have been a Sunday
Or it could have been the next day
Or it could have been any day at all
And it could have been a good day
Or a very very bad day
When you made your grand arrival, I can recall

But if I know you

You'll come sailing through the starlight in the blue
And if I know you
There will be something that you do
Nobody else could contemplate, it's true
If I know you

Madonna's in the bathroom
Madonna's in the bedroom
Holy Virgin Mary, come to my aid
I'm sinking while you're swimming
Losing while you're winning
Everything I've given, you give away

And if I know you
You'll come sailing through the starlight in the blue
And if I know you, you'll swim
You could never drown if someone pushed you in
And if I know you
There will be something that you do

Nobody else could even contemplate, it's true
If I know you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Nerina Pallot's "If I Know You" depict a deep and personal connection between the singer and the subject of the song. It starts with uncertainty about the specific day of the event being described, indicating that the memory of the subject's arrival is not important as much as the fact that they arrived. The next lines suggest that the day could have been good or bad, adding to the air of ambiguity. However, the chorus begins with a confident assertion that the singer knows the subject very well, enough to predict their actions. The image of sailing through the starlight conveys a sense of wonder and admiration, suggesting that the subject is a special person whose actions can be awe-inspiring.

The second verse paints a more troubled picture, with the presence of Madonna and Holy Virgin Mary suggesting a sacrilegious or desperate state. The imagery of sinking and losing contrasts with the subject's swimming and winning, emphasizing the distance between the two. However, the chorus remains hopeful and steadfast, reaffirming the knowledge of the subject's abilities to overcome obstacles and accomplish unique feats. The final line of the chorus suggests that the subject's actions are beyond any other person's imagination or consideration, making them even more mysterious and admirable.

Overall, "If I Know You" is a song about a powerful connection between two people, where the subject's abilities and influence are both admired and mysterious. The lyrics evoke a sense of wonder, uncertainty, and hope, making the song a poignant reflection of human relationships and emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

Well it could have been a Sunday
It could have been any day when you arrived

Or it could have been the next day
It might not have been the same day

Or it could have been any day at all
It could have been any day of the week

And it could have been a good day
The day could have been pleasant

Or a very very bad day
The day could have been terrible

When you made your grand arrival, I can recall
I have a memory of when you came

But if I know you
Based on my knowledge of you

You'll come sailing through the starlight in the blue
You'll arrive in a spectacular way

And if I know you
If my knowledge of you is correct

There will be something that you do
You'll do something unique

Nobody else could contemplate, it's true
No one else would think of what you're going to do