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.
Rousseau
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A ritual passing
At from the Earth
Unbounded birth, you came unknown savage
Your soul is following me, following me
Following me down to the ladders
Or are we really born around free?
Born around free
And you think you feel
Yeah you think youll be on your own
Please follow me
Fresh dream like blood, like blood
And thats the jungle
You sense mistakes, remember me
The safety of the dark
Such fantastic beasts
Home and on the streets
Glorious machines
til it takes your head and sets you free
Your soul is following me, following me
Following me down to the ladders
Or are we really born free?
Born around free
Or just brought again
And you think you feel
Yeah you think youll be on your own
Please follow me
Such fantastic beasts
Home and on the streets
Glorious machines
Your soul is following me, following me
Following me down to the ladders
Or are we really born free?
Born around free
Or just brought again
And you think you feel
Yeah you think youll be on your own
Please follow me
The lyrics of Nerina Pallot's song, "Rousseau," are somewhat enigmatic, yet beautiful. It seems the song talks about a "state of grace" or a perfect, unspoiled world where everything is untouched and untraced. The opening lines suggest that something is passing from the Earth and that there is an unbounded birth that has come from something savage and unknown. The weight of ancestry and history is quite heavy in this song, as Pallot contemplates whether we are truly born free or whether we are brought into a world that is already predetermined. She ponders the idea that we might think we feel alone and on our own, but perhaps our souls are following a preordained path.
As the song progresses, Pallot brings in images of fantastic beasts, machines, and the sense of safety in the dark. These magical beasts and machines may represent our aspirations or ambitions, while the darkness represents the unknown or the place where we seek refuge when things become too overwhelming. In the end, she repeats the question whether we are born free or just brought again, and implores someone to follow her. It seems like she's saying that even though we may feel alone, our souls are always connected to a bigger picture, and perhaps it's okay to rely on that connection to keep us grounded.
Line by Line Meaning
A state of grace, untouched, untraced
A state where everything is perfect and there is no trace of any flaws, errors or imperfections.
A ritual passing
A ceremony or custom that is observed or practiced, which has been followed since generations.
At from the Earth
Emerging from the Earth.
Unbounded birth, you came unknown savage
An unrestrained arrival, uncivilized or wild and unknown.
Your soul is following me, following me, following me down to the ladders
The essence of your being is accompanying me and leading me towards a path of progress or success.
Or are we really born around free?
Is our existence inherently free or just an illusion of freedom?
Born around free
Born surrounded by the concepts of freedom or being free.
Or just brought again
Perhaps we have simply been reincarnated or given another chance at life.
And you think you feel
You believe that you have understood the emotions or experiences you are going through.
Yeah you think youll be on your own
You perceive that you can handle situations on your own without any external help.
Please follow me
Join me or accompany me towards a better future.
Fresh dream like blood, like blood
A new and vibrant vision, as if a vital fluid is flowing through one's veins.
And thats the jungle
This is the wild and unpredictable nature of life.
You sense mistakes, remember me
You become aware of the errors committed and think of me, perhaps for support or guidance.
The safety of the dark
The comfort of the unknown, which seems like a safer place compared to the known dangers of the world.
Such fantastic beasts
Extraordinary and amazing creatures/ things.
Home and on the streets
Indicates that these fantastic things are everywhere, inside the home or outside, in the streets.
Glorious machines
Magnificent pieces of technology or wonders of engineering.
til it takes your head and sets you free
Until you immerse yourself in it completely and find freedom in it.
Contributed by Lily T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@tonytownend
What a discovery, the more I look the more I discover a catalogue of seriously good music.
@stan5008
Nerina is so much underrated
@eduardo6380
Lost the count how many times I've played it on the last few days. Also can't stop singing it. What a music!
@JoGray1987
Such an addictive song, I played it over and over on a loop! 😂
@alkhir1528
🍀and Le Douanier Rousseau too..
You charmed the snakes !
@JoGray1987
One of my fave songs. It's great to hear a singer who doesn't follow the crowd and does her own individual thing. Been a fan since semisonic Glasgow show and I don't usually remember names lol
@barcodenosebleed5485
I'm halfway through a 40 hour book on the enlightenment because of this song. And that's only like 1 of 4 I picked out. So thanks for that...
@seanpeery7780
So happy that you're still making more music. We need more artists that can bring beauty and fun to songs like you do.
@dylanwong5370
Beautiful melody, this deserves more views :)
@tan4eva
Whenever I drive around in Central London, especially at night, I play this song as well as other tracks from the album it comes from.