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.
Once
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From whence you come
Down to the bone
The cold and the rain
You bang on the window
You sing like a bird in a cage
And you feel like
A rat on a wheel
Just this once, once
Let something good happen
Just this once, once
Let the stars align
Just this one time
It's not that I want
The world to be mine
Oh, an army of hearts
When one would be fine
I just want some respite from
The voice in my head
These nails on a blackboard
This grave for a bed
Oh, won't something give now...
Just once, once
Let something good happen
Just this once, once
Let the stars align
Just this one time
It feels like a whistle
Time
And it flows
'round the corners
And through my hands
Oh
Just once, once
Let something good happen
Just this once, once
Let the stars align
Just one time
One time please
One time please
The song "Once" by Nerina Pallot is about feeling trapped, both physically and mentally, and desperately wanting things to change. The opening lines of the song describe the sensation of being brought down to the earth, back to the physical world where one feels the pressures of daily life. The lines "you bang on the window, you sing like a bird in a cage" evoke the feeling of being stuck, unable to escape from one's situation. The sense of being trapped is further emphasized with the lines "you feel like a rat on a wheel," which describe the feeling of going through the motions day after day without any real progress. The song then moves into the chorus, with the repeated plea of "just this once, once let something good happen," indicating a desire for change and for things to finally go right.
The second verse of the song shifts the focus to the mental state of the singer. The lines "these nails on a blackboard, this grave for a bed" symbolize the discomfort and pain of dealing with negative thoughts and emotions. The repeated refrain of "oh, won't something give now" emphasizes the desperate desire for relief from these negative feelings.
The chorus is repeated twice more, each time with increasing urgency and desperation. The final lines of the song, "just one time please, one time please," embody the feeling of reaching a breaking point and pleading for a chance at happiness and peace.
Overall, "Once" is a powerful and relatable song about the desire for change and the hope for a better future.
Line by Line Meaning
Back to the earth
Returning to where you originated
From whence you come
From the place of your origin
Down to the bone
Deeply and thoroughly
The cold and the rain
Unpleasant and uncomfortable circumstances
You bang on the window
Desperately seeking a way out
You sing like a bird in a cage
Expressing yourself despite feeling trapped
And you feel like
Experiencing the sensation of
A rat on a wheel
Being stuck in a cycle without progress
Oh, would something give...
Hoping for a change in the current situation
Just this once, once
One time only
Let something good happen
Wishing for a positive outcome
Let the stars align
Hoping for situations to fall into place perfectly
It's not that I want
Clarifying intentions
The world to be mine
Desiring control over everything
Oh, an army of hearts
A multitude of loving people
When one would be fine
One person's affection would be enough
I just want some respite from
Desiring relief
The voice in my head
Inner thoughts and doubts
These nails on a blackboard
Intense discomfort
This grave for a bed
Feeling trapped and trapped in discomfort
It feels like a whistle
Seemingly fleeting
Time
The ever-passing moments
And it flows
Continuing without pause
'round the corners
Passing through the changing situations of life
And through my hands
Escaping my grasp and control
One time please
Requesting only once
Contributed by Violet P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Steve MacBeath
Beautiful voice, beautiful song, beautiful Nerina!
Niket Drego
Nerina is amazing. ❤️
Kylie Lavigne
Some of the most influential artists of all time never had major commercial success, such as the Ramones. Commercial acts face to nothing whilst Nerina will have a balanced life and fulfilled musical career all her life.