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.
Little Bull
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I just know there's something that we ain′t been told
Every day a window opens where one closes
You just gotta take your chance to make the most
Little Bull
Running from the crowd
Little Bull
Little Bull
What you runnin' from?
What you runnin′
From
You can′t hide it
On and on and on
Don't you try it
On and on and on
You can′t fight
It's alright
It′s alright
It's alright
Now mama said that money it don′t grow on trees
But inside each one of us there is a seed
Every night an endless possibility
Blessings from an angel that we never see
Little Bull
Running from the crowd
Little Bull
Damn, you'd be so proud
Little Bull
What you runnin' from?
What you runnin′
From
You can′t fight it
On and on and on
So don't try it
On and on and on
It′s alright
It's alright
It′s alright
It's alright
Yeah
Is it not true that you′re just running from yourself?
There'd be no monsters that you conjoured from thin air
And then you realise you're running with the bears...
On
And on
And on
You can′t fight it
On and on and on
So don′t try it
On and on and on
It's alright
It′s alright
It's alright
On and on and on
You can′t fight it
On and on and on
So don't try it
On and on and on
It′s alright
It's alright
It's alright
In "Little Bull," Nerina Pallot urges her listeners to seize every opportunity that life presents them with. She acknowledges that although the streets may not necessarily be paved with gold, there is always something to gain from every situation. Pallot speaks of the fleeting nature of opportunities and how they can present themselves and disappear as fast as a window that opens and closes in a single day. Pallot also speaks of the need to take risks and not be afraid to go against the crowd. It is impossible to hide from one's self, and Pallot notes that by accepting our vulnerabilities and fighting any internalized fears, we can unleash our potential and live up to our worth.
The bull, in this song, is a symbol of bravery and strength, with the potential to overcome anything that comes its way. Pallot always refers to the bull as "little Bull." This could be interpreted as "little" meaning insignificant, the opposite of the bull's bravery, or it could be seen as an endearment, as if Pallot is talking to a child or a dear friend who does not realize their own strength.
Overall, "Little Bull" is an uplifting song that encourages listeners to appreciate the little things in life and grab opportunities as and when they come.
Line by Line Meaning
I’m not saying the streets we walk are paved with gold
I am not implying that life is always easy and beautiful.
I just know there's something that we ain't been told
There is a sense of mystery to life that we don't yet understand.
Every day a window opens where one closes
Opportunities arise as others come to a close.
You just gotta take your chance to make the most
It's important to seize opportunities when they arise.
Little Bull, Running from the crowd
The 'Little Bull' is symbolic of someone who is trying to find their way in life and is fleeing the crowd.
Little Bull, Damn, you’d be so proud
Despite the challenges, the Little Bull should be proud of their journey so far.
Little Bull, What you runnin' from?
Questioning the reason for the Little Bull’s journey and what they are trying to escape.
What you runnin' from? You can't hide it
It's impossible to conceal the true reason for running away.
On and on and on, Don't you try it
Running away and avoiding challenges will only last for so long and it's not worth trying to prolong it.
You can't fight, It's alright, It's alright, It's alright
It's not worth fighting the natural flow of life, but everything will be okay.
Now mama said that money it don't grow on trees, But inside each one of us there is a seed
Money isn't something that comes easily, but everyone has potential inside them.
Every night an endless possibility, Blessings from an angel that we never see
Each night brings the opportunity for blessings and positive change, often without us realizing it.
Is it not true that you're just running from yourself?
Is the Little Bull really just escaping from their own problems and inner turmoil?
There'd be no monsters that you conjoured from thin air
The Little Bull might be creating problems or imaginary obstacles that aren't really there.
And then you realise you're running with the bears...
The Little Bull might find their strength and face their challenges head on, instead of avoiding them.
On and on and on, Don't you try it
Running away and avoiding challenges will only last for so long and it's not worth trying to prolong it.
It's alright, It's alright, It's alright
Everything will be okay.
Writer(s): Nerina Natasha Georgina Pallot
Contributed by Declan I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Esmer
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