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 Lost You Now
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And hang my head forlorn and sad?
Would I greet each day in silence
And wipe each dear, each hopeless hope
Wordlessly away until I slip into shadow?
If I lost you now, would I be sorry?
Would I slowly stumble on somehow?
Would I hide my eyes from this lonely life
Would the world go on regardless
And foreign runes in time pursued?
Love is his name and ever shall be
How could they know what I let go?
I'd beg the bitter end of days to swallow me whole.
If I lost you now, would I be sorry?
Would I slowly stumble on somehow?
Would I hide my eyes from this lonely life
If I lost you now?
If I lost you now?
If I lost you now, would I cry?
Oh my god, would I.
The song "If I Lost You Now" by Nerina Pallot is a poignant reflection on the devastating experience of losing a loved one. The opening lines of the song pose a series of questions that explore the depth of emotion and grief that losing someone close can bring. The lines "If I lost you now, would I cry/And hang my head forlorn and sad?" suggest that the singer is contemplating the possible reactions to the loss, and expressing uncertainty about the magnitude of the emotional response that it might evoke. These lines are followed by questions that convey a sense of resignation and despair, with the singer wondering if she would spend her days in silence, wiping away the "hopeless hope" of ever seeing her loved one again.
The lines "Would the world go on regardless/And foreign runes in time pursued?" indicate a sense of disconnection and isolation that can accompany the experience of loss, with the singer feeling like she is living in a world that is no longer familiar or welcoming. She comments on the universality of love when she says "Love is his name and ever shall be", but also acknowledges the personal nature of loss when she adds "How could they know what I let go?"
The chorus of the song, which consists of the repeated refrain "If I lost you now, would I be sorry?", is a powerful expression of the complex mix of emotions that can emerge from the experience of loss. The singer wonders if she would regret the things that she didn't say or do, and agonizes over the possibility of being left alone in a "lonely life" if her loved one were gone.
Line by Line Meaning
If I lost you now, would I cry,
If I were to lose you at this moment, would I shed tears,
And hang my head forlorn and sad?
In despair and sadness, would I bow down my head in defeat?
Would I greet each day in silence
Would I face each day in complete silence,
And wipe each dear, each hopeless hope
Would I give up any chance of hope or happiness that I once had,
Wordlessly away until I slip into shadow?
Slowly receding into the darkness without any words or explanation?
Would I be sorry?
Would I regret losing you?
Would I slowly stumble on somehow?
Would I continue to stumble aimlessly through life in your absence?
Would I hide my eyes from this lonely life
Would I try to avoid the painful reality of living without you,
If I lost you now?
If you were gone from my life, right now?
Would the world go on regardless
Would the world keep moving on, as if nothing had changed?
And foreign runes in time pursued?
And would the future generations not understand the love that we shared?
Love is his name and ever shall be
Love is what we have, and will always be,
How could they know what I let go?
How could anyone understand the magnitude of what I lost?
I'd beg the bitter end of days to swallow me whole.
I would rather face the end of the world than face the pain of losing you.
Oh my god, would I.
Oh my god, I definitely would.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: NERINA NATASHA GEORGINA PALLOT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bouwe Bear
If I lost you now, would I cry,
And hang my head forlorn instead?
Would I greet each day in silence
And wipe each tear, each hopeless hole
Wordlessly away until I slip into shadows?
If I lost you now, would I be sorry?
Would I slowly stumble on somehow?
Would I hide my eyes to this empty life
If I lost you now?
Would the world go on regardless
And foreign runes of time pursued?
Love is his name and ever shall be
How could they know what I'd let go?
I'd beg the bitter end of days to swallow me whole
If I lost you now, would I be sorry?
Would I slowly stumble on somehow?
Would I hide my eyes from this lonely life
If I lost you now?
If I lost you now?
If I lost you now, would I cry?
Oh my god, would I!
Bouwe Bear
If I lost you now, would I cry,
And hang my head forlorn instead?
Would I greet each day in silence
And wipe each tear, each hopeless hole
Wordlessly away until I slip into shadows?
If I lost you now, would I be sorry?
Would I slowly stumble on somehow?
Would I hide my eyes to this empty life
If I lost you now?
Would the world go on regardless
And foreign runes of time pursued?
Love is his name and ever shall be
How could they know what I'd let go?
I'd beg the bitter end of days to swallow me whole
If I lost you now, would I be sorry?
Would I slowly stumble on somehow?
Would I hide my eyes from this lonely life
If I lost you now?
If I lost you now?
If I lost you now, would I cry?
Oh my god, would I!
R B
Such an amazing song
Anthony Michel Dunn
Does it get ANY better than this? Sublime talent.
Caroline Austin
Amazing voice and that Great Gretsch Sound - stunning!
Shane Leslie
wow...what a great discovery...incredible!
Костадин
I am simply speechless...
Lyndsay Briggs
Sublime...
lmagus
This, and Daphne and Apollo are my favourites.
I love you!
Dom Mccaffry
She should be a household name, but fact that she is'nt is quite nice ( maybe not for her; i do'nt know !) But she is a stunning singer songwriter.
Sug Wallace
I'd cry If we lost Nerina ....