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.
Very Good Sir
Nerina Pallot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Could be amazing if you'd try.
Such a sweet boy, very Catholic
Eyes so beautifully wide.
But I'm just a bloodhound, really.
Hunting with the pack - I do it well.
I only chase to pass the time.
I only need to see a sign.
C'mon and show me now
Very good sir, getting better
But you won't look me in the eye.
Do I scare you? If I dared you,
Would you like to come inside?
Here on the one hand
The gentle way of happiness
You only want to drag me down.
Coke in your bathroom cabinet
Scary is your night time habit,
I want to wipe away your frown.
Very good sir, yes it's better
Since you looked me in the eye.
Such a sweet boy, very Catholic
Eyes so beautifully wide.
So why must you fight?
Why not live and let the world go by every day.
And what makes you right? How much you earn?
Don't you know your cash won't buy what love will buy.
Very good sir, yes it's better
Could be amazing if you'd try
Such a sweet boy, very Catholic
Eyes so beautifully wide.
The song "Very Good Sir" by Nerina Pallot talks about a woman's attraction to a man who is getting better but still refuses to let her in his life because of his insecurities. The woman describes the man as a sweet boy with beautiful eyes but also sees him as someone who lacks confidence and is ashamed of his habits, such as keeping coke in his bathroom cabinet. She tries to understand him but also challenges him to let go of his fears and live his life fully by pursuing their potential relationship.
The lyrics explore themes of attraction and rejection, self-doubt, and personal growth. The woman is trying to understand the man's reluctance to let her in his life and sees potential in him if he only tries to be more confident and open to new possibilities. She is also questioning the societal norms that put value on material things like money rather than love, which is something that cannot be bought.
Line by Line Meaning
Very good sir, getting better
You're improving, but you could be exceptional with a little effort.
Could be amazing if you'd try.
If you put in some effort, you could achieve amazing things.
Such a sweet boy, very Catholic
You come across as kind and religious.
Eyes so beautifully wide.
Your eyes are stunningly large and expressive.
But I'm just a bloodhound, really.
I'm just a follower, nothing more.
Hunting with the pack - I do it well.
I'm good at following and fitting in with the group.
I only chase to pass the time.
I only follow others because I have nothing else to do.
I have been desperately wondering if you want me lately
Lately, I've been eagerly trying to figure out if you feel the same way about me.
I only need to see a sign.
All I need is some indication from you to know whether you're interested.
C'mon and show me now
Please give me a clear sign of how you feel.
But you won't look me in the eye.
You avoid making eye contact with me.
Do I scare you? If I dared you,
Do I make you nervous? If I challenged you,
Would you like to come inside?
Would you like to get to know me better?
Here on the one hand
On one hand, there's
The gentle way of happiness
The peaceful path to happiness
You only want to drag me down.
You're only interested in bringing me down.
Coke in your bathroom cabinet
You have cocaine stored in your bathroom cabinet
Scary is your night time habit,
Your nighttime habits are frightening,
I want to wipe away your frown.
I want to remove the sadness from your face.
So why must you fight?
Why are you so combative?
Why not live and let the world go by every day.
Why not relax and let life happen day by day?
And what makes you right? How much you earn?
What makes you think you're correct? Your income?
Don't you know your cash won't buy what love will buy.
Don't you realize that money can't buy everything that love can?
Very good sir, yes it's better
You're doing well and things have improved.
Could be amazing if you'd try
With a little effort, you could achieve something truly incredible.
Such a sweet boy, very Catholic
You seem like a kind and religious person.
Eyes so beautifully wide.
Your large, expressive eyes are incredibly beautiful.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Nerina Pallot
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind