Alice Merton’s “No Roots” Lyrics Meaning
The premise of the lyrics of Alice Merton’s “No Roots” is quite simple. Merton reportedly relocated an average of once every 2 years over a 24-year period. And when we say relocated, we mean internationally, as in traveling among Germany (her mother’s homeland), Canada and England (her dad’s country). Thus when pressed for a definitive answer concerning where her home actually is, in the traditional sense Alice feels she doesn’t have one. So she basically feels she’s devoid of “roots”, as in a conclusive place of origin.
Thus this track reads somewhat like a listing of the psychological effects that ‘traveling like gypsies’ has had on the singer. And it is all meant to point back to the idea of she being unable to identify any particular place as her “home”. However, its intent is not to convey a feeling of the blues that would logically accompany such a sentiment. Rather, it is more or less a personal glimpse into a certain reality – constant travelling – which defined the early years of singer’s life.
When did “No Roots” come out?
“No Roots” was released by Paper Plane Records on 1 December 2016. And it served as the first single from Merton’s debut EP. That EP was also entitled “No Roots”.
This song was also later featured on Alice’s first full-length, 2019’s “Mint”.
“No Roots” ushered Merton into Stardom
It proved to be a sound start to her career, as “No Roots” charted in almost 20 countries, including scoring a number 1 in the Ukraine. It also reached number 1 on America’s Billboard’s Rock Airplay chart.
In Alice Merton’s home countries of Britain and Germany, the song respectively peaked at numbers 52 and 2.
“No Roots” almost made the top 5 in the countries listed below:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Israel
- Russia
- Slovenia
Furthermore, it went double-Platinum in Italy.
Writing Credits
The duo of Alice Merton and Nicolas Rebscher both wrote and produced this song.
