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.
Jump
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I go for the suckers, those mean motherfuckers I can't resist.
If I should get bitten. As long as he's smitten I understand
That pain comes with pleasure, such bittersweet treasure cannot be missed.
So how could you help me now?
I can't help myself
Checking the parachute, see if it flies.
Oh if I should break my neck I never bruise
I go on and jump, give it a try
Don't call the ambulance, I'm still alive
And if I should break my neck I'll make the news.
The Friday night ritual of pulling habitual non-entities.
The lawyers, the bankers, the next morning thank yous and "call you soon..."
These public school faces, I thought time erases one's misery
Oh no, it comes back to haunt you, old photos will taunt of your big mistake
So how can you save me now?
I can't save myself.
I go on and jump, give it a try
Checking the parachute, see if it flies.
Oh if I should break my neck I never bruise
I go on and jump, give it a try
Don't call the ambulance, I'm still alive
And if I should break my neck I'll make the news.
I go on and jump, give it a try
Checking the parachute, see if it flies.
Oh if I should break my neck I never bruise
I go on and jump, give it a try
Don't call the ambulance, I'm still alive
And if I should break my neck I'll make the news.
I go on and jump, give it a try
Don't call the ambulance, I'm still alive
And if I should break my neck I'll make the news.
The first verse of Nerina Pallot's song "Jump" reveals the singer's tendency to prefer the wrong kind of men. Despite knowing that she should go for the "good man," she instead finds herself drawn to the "suckers" and "mean motherf***ers." She acknowledges that this choice can lead to pain, but she sees it as part of the pleasure, a bittersweet treasure that cannot be missed. The chorus then speaks to the singer's willingness to take risks despite the potential for harm. She describes herself as checking the parachute to see if it will fly, but if she were to "break her neck," she wouldn't bruise - suggesting her resilience in the face of adversity.
The second verse furthers this theme of engaging in risky behavior by referencing a habitual Friday night ritual of spending time with people the singer considers non-entities, such as lawyers and bankers. She acknowledges that these individuals may seem attractive in the moment, but ultimately they are a source of misery that will come back to haunt her. The singer expresses her desire to be saved from this destructive cycle and continues to call for help in the chorus. Despite acknowledging her need for assistance, she also reiterates her willingness to take risks and potentially suffer harm.
Overall, the song seems to be about a person who is drawn to risk-taking behavior despite knowing the potential for harm. This can be seen in both the singer's attraction to dangerous men and her habit of spending time with people who ultimately leave her feeling miserable. Despite her willingness to take risks, however, the singer also recognizes her need for help and seems to be reaching out for someone to save her from her destructive tendencies.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh good Lord above, I'm immune to the love of a good man
I have a tendency for undesirable men and no amount of good men's love can affect my choices.
I go for the suckers, those mean motherfuckers I can't resist.
I tend to choose men who are not good for me despite their undesirable nature.
If I should get bitten. As long as he's smitten I understand
Even if I end up getting hurt, as long as the man is in love with me, I find it worth it.
That pain comes with pleasure, such bittersweet treasure cannot be missed.
I believe that the pleasure that comes with pain makes it an experience worth having.
So how could you help me now?
I am in a position where I cannot be helped and must navigate my issues alone.
I can't help myself
I am incapable of breaking away from my problematic tendencies.
I go on and jump, give it a try
I am willing to take risks and try new things despite their potential dangers.
Checking the parachute, see if it flies.
I take precautions and evaluate my choices before taking action.
Oh if I should break my neck I never bruise
I am confident in my ability to take risks and do not fear the consequences.
Don't call the ambulance, I'm still alive
I can handle the consequences of my actions and do not need help from others.
And if I should break my neck I'll make the news.
I am willing to take risks so great that even if I were to suffer severe consequences, it would make headlines.
The Friday night ritual of pulling habitual non-entities.
I engage in a repetitive and unsatisfying cycle of dating men who are not good for me.
The lawyers, the bankers, the next morning thank yous and "call you soon..."
I attract and date men who are not interested in a serious commitment and only want to keep things casual.
These public school faces, I thought time erases one's misery
I believed that dating successful and wealthy men would bring me happiness and solve my problems, but it has not.
Oh no, it comes back to haunt you, old photos will taunt of your big mistake
The memories and photos of my bad choices in men will continue to bother me and remind me of my mistakes.
So how can you save me now?
I am beyond the point of being saved and must take responsibility for my own actions.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Nerina Pallot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Merit J
she's totally honest and sincere in her music, being herself :) that's what i love about her
Kapilia
she should really win an award for her song writing. she rocks! I love it how she says "if i should break my neck I'll make the news" so cheerfully.
batmanofni
wow, that's brillaint. She's got a voice.
kernowrock555
she's just cute... and adorable !!! saw her live in London , opened for Sheryl Crow. and she was amazing live...all on her own !!
Cannonfodd
you think so? she is really talented! ^^
Kate Summers
Godd i just keep loving her more and more <3
TheFo rce
Amazing!!!
Solitude Forest
I foud her cd when my gf moved in with me, and i just found her music amazing !
MayweedMole
I just bought a cd of her after coming across an article about her and I have to say it is more poppy than I like....it called Fires and only a couple of songs stood out for me, but the stuff I am seeing on YouTube is better, so I may have to take the chance and invest in maybe a few more songs before I write her off as too commercially poppy for my liking!! Am a huge fan of people like Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple, Ani DiFranco and was hoping she would be more in that vein!!
Lawry Simm
I'm just discovering "Dear Frustrated Superstar" 15 years late! Loving it...