Nerina Pallot Reminds Us What It Is to Be Human on “Regrets”

The soulful first single from British singer/songwriter Nerina Pallot’s eighth studio album reminds us that to be human is to have “Regrets.”

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Stream: “Regrets” – Nerina Pallot

“I got regrets, and so do you,” sings Nerina Pallot as the closing lyric to her brand new single “Regrets” off her upcoming album, A Psalm for Emily Salvi, due out on November 1^st. The line brings you back to earth with a crash, because it is true for every human who has ever existed on this sphere we call Earth. We are told that regrets are not a good thing to have and are things to be avoided at all costs, but what if, regrets are an inevitable part of the fabric of being human, just like heartbreak, grief or happiness.

Pallot sings “Regrets” as if it isn’t something to run away from but something that we inevitably collect along the way. A bit like picking up a Mars Bar when we said we were only popping out for milk.

Regrets - Nerina Pallot — Regrets – Nerina Pallot

British singer/songwriter, artist, musician, and producer Nerina Pallot has been writing and making music for over two decades. Pallot is now on her eighth studio album, and that does not include several live records and countless EPs. Pallot has also written short stories and poetry and is the author of one of my favourite Substack newsletters!

A little fun fact on Pallot: On New Year’s Eve in 2013, Pallot made a bet with her fans that she would release an EP every month in 2014, which would culminate in a full-length record.

It may have been the wine talking, but Pallot made good on her bet and released a five-track EP each month that year, followed by the release of her politically charged full-length album The Sound and the Fury. The project was (and remains) incredible, and showcasing not only Pallot’s talent as a songwriter and artist, but also her close relationship with her fans.

A Psalm for Emily Salvi - Nerina Pallot — A Psalm for Emily Salvi – Nerina Pallot

Those reading this in the United States might know Pallot best for her second album Fires, released in 2005, which has become a cult classic and which led her to supporting Keith Urban on his 2006 US tour. Pallot also had her cover of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” featured in the TV show Normal People.

“Regrets,” produced by Pallot, is an upbeat track about, well, regrets, that blends pop and gospel effortlessly. Pallot has always been able to tread the line of serious self-awareness whilst also not taking herself too seriously, and she continues to do so on “Regrets.”

I always played the fool
Thought life was funny
Now the jokes on me because I’ve got no money
But I got regrets
Yes I do

Of “Regrets,” Pallot tells Atwood Magazine, “I think I’d been listening to Nappy Roots’ “Good Day” that day and was just messing about on the piano trying to come up with some little riffs and then the whole song just arrived. The lyric, while tongue-in-cheek is also total honesty. You get to certain age and you’re gonna have regrets – if you don’t then you’ve either lived a perfect life (nobody has lived a perfect life) or you’ve gone through it on autopilot. I initially hoped somebody else would cut this – like CeeLo before he got cancelled – but I think it’s meant for me because it’s the truth. Almost all of this was cut in my home studio – but it wasn’t until Ricci Mitchell added his insanely brilliant vocals that the whole thing came to life.”

Pallot makes music for the human condition. Across her entire discography, she writes about what it is to be human; the mess, the mistakes, the regrets, the if-only’s, the restlessness. But she does it in way that isn’t tragic or sad, but with the knowingness that all these things are a part of living and being human.

There’s no man alive
Who don’t question what he’s done with his life
If you don’t question what you’ve done with your life
Are you even alive?

If you enjoyed “Regrets” and want to delve more into Pallot’s discography then I recommend her albums, The Graduate, Stay Lucky and her latest record, I Don’t Know What I’m Doing.

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