From rare-groove to rave to trip-hop and soul, Nicolette was one of the mos… Read Full Bio ↴From rare-groove to rave to trip-hop and soul, Nicolette was one of the most eccentric dance vocalists of the 1990s, working with everyone from the one-shot rave act L.A. Style to electro futurists like Plaid. Born in Scotland though she was raised in Nigeria, France and Switzerland, Nicolette debuted with the single "Wicked Mathematics" after being one of the first signings by the eponymous label run by Shut Up and Dance. Her debut album, 1992's Now Is Early showed her to be an uncommonly mature talent who wrote her own songs (some engaged in political commentary) and featured a warm, crystalline voice. Besides various vocal gigs (including Massive Attack's Protection), Nicolette rarely recorded during the next four years. Finally in 1996, she was signed to Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud Records. Her second album, Let No-One Live Rent Free in Your Head, appeared that same year. Nicolette also contributed an edition in Studio !K7's DJ Kicks series.
After 10 years Nicolette reemerged with her third album, Life Loves Us, released on her own label Early Records in 2005.

Song for Europe
Nicolette Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm going home I'm going away
Unless you tell me you love me
I'm going home I'm going home
It's cold here and the buildings are grey
I want to feel my home but you asked me to stay
But if you don't want me around let me know

I'm going home back to my fatherland

Home back to my motherland
Home back to my fatherland

I'm going home back to my fatherland
Home back to my motherland
Home back to my fatherland

You have a heart but you're sad and you're scared
You think I'll burn you like fire
I only came to see your heart
But you don't trust me at all
You think that I hate you for the things in the past
I don't it's just it seems to me that past still lasts
I love you but I have to leave you I must go

I'm going home back to my motherland
Home back to my fatherland
Home back to my motherland

I'm going home back to my motherland
Home back to my fatherland
Home back to my motherland

You sense of sin
Is destructive
Don't want to win
Just want to live

I'm going home

Overall Meaning

Nicolette's Song for Europe seems to be a heartrending ballad about a woman's love for her partner and her longing for her homeland. The lyrics depict her inner turmoil about whether to leave or stay with her lover. The song starts with the singer saying that she is going home unless her lover tells her that they love her. She expresses her longing for her home, which is filled with warmth and not as cold and grey as the current city. However, the lover asks her to stay, not wanting her to leave, but she also wants to be with someone who loves her back. She is in a dilemma if she should leave her lover and go back to her homeland or stay here and wait till her lover confesses their love for her.

The song's emotions and narration build up towards the end when the singer says that she loves her partner, but she has to leave, knowing that her lover does not trust her and believes that she would hurt them like fire. She wants to be with someone who can trust her and not just be suspicious of her actions all the time.

Overall, the song's theme seems to be that love is not just a one-way street, and if we want to be with someone, we must communicate our feelings to them, or else we might end up losing them forever.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm going home I'm going away
I am leaving this place unless you express love for me

I'm going home I'm going home
I am returning to my homeland

It's cold here and the buildings are grey
The atmosphere here is depressing

I want to feel my home but you asked me to stay
Although I long to return home, you want me to stay

But if you don't want me around let me know
If you want me to leave, please say so

You have a heart but you're sad and you're scared
You possess emotions, yet you're afraid and depressed

You think I'll burn you like fire
You are afraid that I will hurt you

I only came to see your heart
I only want to get to know you on a deeper level

But you don't trust me at all
You don't have faith in me whatsoever

You think that I hate you for the things in the past
You believe I despise you based on previous events

I don't it's just it seems to me that past still lasts
I do not hate you; it's just that the past is difficult to forget

I love you but I have to leave you I must go
I care for you, but I have to depart

Your sense of sin
Your awareness of wrongdoing

Is destructive
It is harmful to you and others around you

Don't want to win
You don't care about winning or being right

Just want to live
You only desire to exist or survive

I'm going home back to my motherland
I am returning to my native country

Home back to my fatherland
I am going back to where my ancestors come from

Home back to my motherland
I am returning to the place I consider home

Writer(s): Dennis Mcfarlane, Nicolette Nochie Egbolum Suwoton

Contributed by Henry F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

@dabadaba9363

4y↑7

The one of Dego/4hero’s best work.

@carloshamer

8y↑4

I love this song. We need to go back to this kind of music.

@SimonMackUK77

2y↑2

Thks for the upload. Used to love this so much when it came out 98? Still gorgeous

@mobius3001

5y↑3

I've been looking for this for years.

@genafk

4y↑2

A Guy Called Gerald and One in the Jungle brought me here!

@cescorosa61

It was a special packing CD, with a magnet to close It, if I remember well...

@ryanstocks7386

8y↑3

Thank you for posting this. I had this on a drum n bass mixtape by a guy called Gerald back when I was a kid and didn't know what it was called. It's a brilliant track.