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.
It Was Me
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That you can't take with you when you're gone
The wind at your heels
The shadows so sweet of sentimental longing for the past
All these things uncaptured, gone, or might have been
In the slow, dull dying of the day
I ponder on these things I've done
A heart I could have chosen not to break
But oh, I ran, I ran so easily
Casting no shadow in my wake
In chase, so manly, then I soon get bored
And honey, I'm such a flake
So the road won't rise to meet me as I go
And this feckless heart knows no reward
For all my lies, I apologize
It was me, it wasn't you
And now I know.
But oh, I ran, I ran so easily
Casting no shadow in my wake
In chase, so manly, then I soon get bored
And honey, I'm such a flake
Still, it does no good for one to think of things
That you can't do anything about
But in solitary hours, I think of you now
It was me, it wasn't you
And now I know.
The lyrics of Nerina Pallot's "It Was Me" are ruminations on regret, longing, and the promises we make to ourselves that we often break. The opening lines of "there's no use hanging onto anything/ that you can't take with you when you're gone" set the stage for the introspective mood of the song. The wind and shadows allude to elusive memories and missed opportunities. The singer reflects on the things they've done, including breaking someone's heart, a choice they could have made differently.
The second verse suggests that the singer is aware of their own flaws and weaknesses, particularly when it comes to relationships. They describe themselves as running away from confrontation or commitment, casting no shadow in their wake. They acknowledge their own flakiness and the lack of reward for their irresponsibility.
Despite the somber tone of the song, there is a glimmer of hope in the final verse. The singer acknowledges that dwelling on what could have been is futile, but they still think of the person they hurt. They accept responsibility for their actions and imply that they've learned from their mistakes. The repetition of "it was me, it wasn't you" reinforces the sense of accountability and closure.
Line by Line Meaning
Well there's no use hanging onto anything
There is no point in holding onto anything
That you can't take with you when you're gone
Things that cannot be taken when one dies
The wind at your heels
Feeling of freedom and adventure
The shadows so sweet of sentimental longing for the past
Nostalgic memories that are bittersweet
All these things uncaptured, gone, or might have been
Things that were not achieved or are now impossible
In the slow, dull dying of the day
End of the day, when things become quiet and still
I ponder on these things I've done
Reflecting on past actions and decisions
A heart I could have chosen not to break
Regret for hurting someone else's feelings
But oh, I ran, I ran so easily
Running away from problems and avoiding responsibility
Casting no shadow in my wake
Not leaving any impact or consequence behind
In chase, so manly, then I soon get bored
Starting something with enthusiasm but quickly getting tired of it
And honey, I'm such a flake
Admitting to being unreliable and inconsistent
So the road won't rise to meet me as I go
Not expecting good things to happen in the future
And this feckless heart knows no reward
Feeling undeserving of good things
For all my lies, I apologize
Apology for being dishonest
It was me, it wasn't you
Taking responsibility for past mistakes
And now I know.
Realizing the truth and accepting it
Still, it does no good for one to think of things
Thinking about things that cannot be changed is pointless
That you can't do anything about
Things that are out of one's control
But in solitary hours, I think of you now
Thinking about someone who was hurt by one's actions
It was me, it wasn't you
Acknowledging that the fault lies with oneself
And now I know.
Understanding and accepting the truth
Contributed by Sadie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ukhio
oh Man! Nerina is so unique and so talented. I feel so fortunate to know her music I must have been blessed by God =)
Ethony
So beautiful, I love Nerina can't wait for the new album
GarENt sIrUS
go nerina!!!
Rachel curlylocks
@jasmineisthebomb yeah Ringo's funeral! I was so happy for it to get recognition :D
Rachel curlylocks
@Ralpymorris I love Nerina and Corrine Bailey Rae :)