He has never toured the United States, where he is best known for the 1978 single "Fool (If You Think It's Over)", which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart, earning him a Grammy nomination as Best New Artist in 1978. A decade later, "Working On It" topped the Mainstream Rock chart. He has sold more than 40 million records worldwide.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Rea
Studio albums
Whatever Happened to Benny Santini? (Magnet, 1978)
Deltics (Magnet, 1979)
Tennis (Magnet, 1980)
Chris Rea (Magnet, 1981)
Water Sign (Magnet, 1983)
Wired to the Moon (Magnet, 1984)
Shamrock Diaries (Magnet, 1985)
On the Beach (Magnet, 1986)
Dancing with Strangers (Magnet, 1987)
The Road to Hell (WEA, 1989)
Auberge (EastWest, 1991)
God's Great Banana Skin (EastWest, 1992)
Espresso Logic (EastWest, 1993)
La Passione (soundtrack, EastWest, 1996)
The Blue Cafe (EastWest, 1998)
The Road to Hell: Part 2 (EastWest, 1999)
King of the Beach (EastWest, 2000)
Dancing Down the Stony Road/Stony Road (Jazzee Blue, 2002
Blue Street (Five Guitars) (Jazzee Blue, 2003)
Hofner Blue Notes (Jazzee Blue, 2003)
The Blue Jukebox (Jazzee Blue, 2004)
Blue Guitars (Jazzee Blue, 2005)
The Return of the Fabulous Hofner Bluenotes (Jazzee Blue, 2008)
Santo Spirito Blues (Jazzee Blue, 2011)
Road Songs for Lovers (Jazzee Blue, 2017)
One Fine Day (Rhino, limited release, 2019)
Giverny
Chris Rea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a sacred heart, I'd know this garden anywhere
She was warm, she was deep summertime
She was love itself and she was standing there
Standing close, so close to me
I closed my eyes and I could see
Giverny
I looked for love and found it everywhere
It was what you saw she came to see
Because of you she was standing there
Giverny
Books may burn and rain may fall
But what is here I know will last forever more
Colours change, there are no defines
She was love itself and I thank you for giving me
Giverny
The lyrics to Chris Rea's song "Giverny" are a beautiful tribute to a location that holds a lot of meaning to the singer. At the beginning of the song, Rea describes this location as an old, dusty place with a sacred heart, which suggests that it holds a lot of history and significance for him. The garden he is referring to is in Giverny, a small village in Normandy, France, where the famous impressionist painter Claude Monet lived and painted. Rea then goes on to describe his feelings towards this garden, personifying it as a warm and deep summertime, embodying the essence of love.
Rea is overwhelmed by the beauty that he sees in Giverny, and this sense of awe is reinforced when he says that he closed his eyes and could still see the garden. More importantly, he recognizes that the reason he loves this garden is because of the person he is sharing it with. In the second verse, Rea acknowledges that although things may change and be destroyed, the love that he has discovered in Giverny will last forever. Overall, the song is a beautiful meditation on the power of love and how it can be found in the most unexpected places.
Line by Line Meaning
Deep inside these old dusty walls
Within these aged and unkempt walls
There's a sacred heart, I'd know this garden anywhere
I can sense the core of this garden, as it's familiar to me
She was warm, she was deep summertime
The garden was cozy, and it felt like it was peak summer
She was love itself and she was standing there
The garden embodied pure, unadulterated love, and I could see it before me
Standing close, so close to me
It was near to me, inches away from me
I closed my eyes and I could see
When I shut my eyes, I could perceive it even more clearly
Giverny
The name of the garden I'm describing
And in this strange and holy place
In this unconventional yet sacred plot of land
I looked for love and found it everywhere
I sought affection, and I discovered it all around me
It was what you saw she came to see
The beauty which lured the people, that's what they endeavor to witness
Because of you she was standing there
You're responsible for bringing this garden into existence
Books may burn and rain may fall
Even if books get destroyed and harsh weather occurs
But what is here I know will last forever more
I'm confident that what is present here will survive for eternity
Colours change, there are no defines
Colors transform, and one cannot establish intrinsic aspects
She was love itself and I thank you for giving me
The garden personified love, and I'm grateful to you for letting me experience it
Giverny
The name of the enchanting garden that affected me profoundly
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTOPHER ANTON REA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind