Born on born 9th January 1987 in Paisley, Scotland, his father is of Italian descent and his mother Glaswegian, although his father's family have been in Scotland for four generations. Nutini had no formal music training, and was expecting to follow his father into the family fish and chip shop business. He was first encouraged to sing by his music-loving grandfather and a teacher at his school who recognised his talent. He left school to work as a roadie and to sell T-shirts for Speedway and spent three years learning the music business, performing live, alone and with a band, and working as a studio hand at Glasgow's Park Lane Studio.
His big chance came when he attended a concert for David Sneddon's return to his home town of Paisley at the beginning of 2003. Sneddon was delayed, and as the winner of an impromptu pop quiz, Nutini was given the chance to perform a couple of songs on stage during the wait. The favourable reaction of the crowd impressed another member of the audience, who offered to become his manager.
A Daily Record journalist, John Dingwall, saw him performing at the Queen Margaret Union, and invited him to appear live on Radio Scotland. Still only seventeen, he moved to London, and performed regularly at the Bedford pub in Balham whilst still legally too young to drink alcohol himself. Other radio and live appearances followed, including two live acoustic spots on Radio London, The Hard Rock Cafe, and support slots for Amy Winehouse and KT Tunstall.
His debut album, These Streets, produced by Ken Nelson (Coldplay/Gomez), was released on 17th July 2006, and immediately entered the U.K. album charts at number three. Many of the songs on the album, including "Last Request" and "Rewind", were inspired by a turbulent relationship with a girlfriend, and "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" is a true story about encounters with an older woman.
On 29th May 2009 Nutini released his second studio album, Sunny Side Up, after the first single from that album, "Candy", was released on 18th May. In July, he appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, performing "Coming Up Easy". This was released as the second single from the album on 10th August.
Sugar Man
Paolo Nutini Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'cause I'm tired of these scenes
For a blue coin won't you bring back
all those colours to my dreams?
Silver magic ships you carry
Jumpers cold, sweet Mary Jane
On a lonely dusty road
Lost my heart when I found him
It had turned to dead black coal
Silver magic ships, you carry
Jumpers cold, sweet Mary Jane
Sugar man, you're the answer
That makes all my questions disappear
Sugar man, cause I'm weary
Of those awful games, I hear
Silver magic ships, you carry
Jumpers cold, sweet Mary Jane
Sugar man, won't you hurry?
'cause I'm tired of these scenes..
The lyrics of the song "Sugar Man" by Paolo Nutini revolves around the theme of desperation and longing for a way out. The song is a cover of a track by Sixto Rodriguez, an American musician who initially went unnoticed in his native country but gained massive popularity in South Africa during the 1970s. The initial line of the song "Sugar man, won't you hurry?" establishes a tone of anxiety and impatience. The singer is tired of living in the same monotonous way and wants a drastic change in their circumstances.
The next line "For a blue coin won't you bring back all those colours to my dreams?" suggests that the singer is willing to do anything to bring a change to their life. The imagery of "silver magic ships" and "Mary Jane" reflects the use of drugs and alcohol to escape from the harsh realities. The lines "Sugar man, made a false friend, On a lonely dusty road, Lost my heart when I found him, It had turned to dead black coal" indicate the singer's disappointment and betrayal by someone they trusted.
However, the chorus "Sugar man, you're the answer, That makes all my questions disappear" reiterates their faith and belief that the desired change is still possible. The repeated call for the Sugar Man to hurry in the final lines of the song further emphasizes the singer's desperation to move on to a better life.
Line by Line Meaning
Sugar man, won't you hurry?
The singer pleads with the drug dealer to come quickly.
'cause I'm tired of these scenes
The singer is sick and tired of the drug-related situations and environments he finds himself in.
For a blue coin won't you bring back
all those colours to my dreams?
The singer asks if he can finally have access to drugs again in order to experience colorful and vivid dreams.
Silver magic ships you carry
Jumpers cold, sweet Mary Jane
The singer describes the dealer's drugs as magical and addictive.
Sugar man, made a false friend
On a lonely dusty road
The singer met the dealer by chance and now regrets getting involved with him.
Lost my heart when I found him
It had turned to dead black coal
The singer's heart has been hardened and damaged due to his association with the dealer.
Sugar man, you're the answer
That makes all my questions disappear
The singer views drugs as a solution to his problems, and the dealer as the one who can provide them.
Sugar man, cause I'm weary
Of those awful games, I hear
The singer is fed up with the lies, deceit, and danger that comes with the drug world.
Contributed by Isaiah O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Madelyn Dutt
i absolutely love this song! i'm not into drugs or anything, but i think that song in general is good. it's so great when Paolo sings it!
gringo
Madelyn Dutt rodriguez is better than Paolo. sorry!
Angel
Thanx to South Africa. The rest of the world owe you the music of this man. I Love Rodríguez.
danabeepilibidihi
wow! i never even dreamed of such a wonderful moment! whenever you are feeling down remember who you got to see play together and it will have to make you smile!
lenoucoucou
Waow!!!!! Paolo & Sixto:what beautiful duet! Both of them are fantastic,but it would be more again awesome if Sixto had sung with Paolo... Maybe the next time?!(I hope I'll be there for this show!!!!)
alivecas
Awesome, they are such a great pair!!! thank you very much for sharing!! This is going to be in my memory forever!
Inezkid
Paolo loves Sixto Rodriguez and often covers this tune. He played Detroit this night - where Sixto lives - and it was a guest appearance.
Lily thepink
thank you for sharing this.. a nervous lad, on stage with his idol, Rodriguez... bloody awesome!!! x♥
Dj Roxanne
I can not believe he did a sixto song.. dan paolo youre the best..if only i was 10 years younger.. damn boy
davidoffon
He, Sixto, has gone missing for years on end, probably because he does not have an addiction to fame and the pretense attached to it. He is still one of the greats. There may of course be other issues.