De Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, to Colonel Charles John Davison, MBE, a British diplomat, and Maeve Emily de Burgh, an Irish secretary. His maternal grandfather was Sir Eric de Burgh, a British Army officer who had been Chief of the General Staff in India during the Second World War. He took his mother's name, "de Burgh", when he began performing. His father had substantial farming interests, and Chris spent much of his early years in Malta, Nigeria and Zaire, as he, his mother and brother accompanied Colonel Davison on his diplomatic and engineering work.
The Davisons finally settled in Bargy Castle, County Wexford, Ireland, which was somewhat dilapidated at the time. It was a twelfth-century castle which Eric de Burgh bought in the 1960s. He converted it into a hotel, and the young Chris sang for the guests there.
After attending Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England, de Burgh went on to graduate from Trinity College, Dublin, with a Master of Arts degree in French, English and History.
Chris de Burgh signed his first contract with A&M Records in 1974, and supported Supertramp on their Crime of the Century tour, building himself a small fan base. His début album, Far Beyond These Castle Walls, was a folk-tinged stab at fantasy in the tradition of the Moody Blues. It failed to chart upon its release in late 1974. A few months later, he released a single called "Turning Round" from the album, released outside the UK and Ireland as "Flying". It failed to make an impression in the UK, but it stayed on top of the Brazilian charts for 17 weeks. This became a familiar pattern for the singer/songwriter, as every one of his 1970s albums failed to chart in the UK or US while they racked up big sales in continental European and South American countries.
In 1975 his second album, Spanish Train and Other Stories, was released. Whilst (again) not a huge commercial success, the album and tour expanded the fan base, with de Burgh starting to attract a cult following. Along with the epic title track, other fan favourite tracks from the album included "Patricia The Stripper" and "A Spaceman Came Travelling" (the latter released the following year as a single).
1977's third album, At the End of a Perfect Day, whilst well received and featuring both former Fairport Convention drummer Dave Mattacks and later Fairport drummer Gerry Conway, failed to push de Burgh's career significantly, leading to the release of his fourth album Crusader in 1979. Crusader took a more electric direction, including guitar contributions from Ian Bairnson (formerly of Pilot), bass player David Paton (also of Pilot), and drummer Stuart Elliott (formerly of both Cockney Rebel and of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel), all of whom were also working, at the time, with Kate Bush. The album also featured Sky keyboard player Francis Monkman and Mike Moran. Whilst it attracted a significant number of new fans, Crusader still failed to break through in the UK and US. 1980's Eastern Wind also failed to build further on the (still cult) following in the major territories.
In 1981 de Burgh had his first UK chart entry with Best Moves, a collection culled from his early albums. It set the stage for 1982's Rupert Hine produced The Getaway, which reached number 30 in the UK charts and number 43 in the US, thanks to the eerie single "Don't Pay the Ferryman". Chris de Burgh's follow-up album, Man on the Line, also performed well, charting at 69 in the US and 11 in the UK.
Chris de Burgh had an across-the-board success with the ballad "The Lady in Red" in late 1986; the single became a number one hit in the UK (number three in America) and its accompanying album, Into the Light, reached number two in the UK (number 25 in the U.S.). That Christmas season, a re-release of de Burgh's 1976 Christmas song "A Spaceman Came Travelling" became a Top 40 hit in the UK. Flying Colours, his follow-up to Into the Light, entered the British charts at number one upon its 1988 release, yet it failed to make the American charts. De Burgh never hit the US charts again and his commercial fortunes began to slide slightly in Britain in the early 1990s, yet he retained a following around the world. This is mainly due to inactivity of his previous recording label A&M Records UK division in the U.S.
In 1997 de Burgh composed a song entitled "There's a New Star Up in Heaven Tonight", dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales. The song was released as a 100-copy limited edition and included on the compilations The Ultimate Collection (2000) and Now and Then (2009).
In 2007 a concert in Tehran was planned for mid-2008, together with local band Arian, which would have made Chris de Burgh the first western pop singer to perform in Iran since the 1979 revolution. However, the concert never went ahead because he had not been given permission by the Iranian authorities to perform in the country.
He was the first Western act to play in Lebanon after the Lebanese Civil War.
On 25 June 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Chris de Burgh among hundreds of artists whose material was reportedly destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.
Àfrica
Chris de Burgh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She's coming in, 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you"
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what's right
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa
(I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa (I bless the rain)
I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa (ah, gonna take the time)
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
The song "Africa" by Chris de Burgh portrays a man's journey to Africa with a woman he cares deeply about. As he hears the drums echoing in the night, he realizes that she may not be as enthralled by the adventure as he is. He encounters an old man who gives him some advice and tells him to hurry, which leads him to conclude that he needs to prioritize his relationship and the things they never had time to do together. The chorus reinforces this idea, "It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you, There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do."
Line by Line Meaning
I hear the drums echoing tonight
I notice the drums beating loud and clear tonight.
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
However, she only catches bits and pieces of a hushed talk.
She's coming in, 12:30 flight
I expect her to arrive on a plane scheduled to land at 12:30.
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
The plane's wings, in the moonlight, represent the stars that direct me to my deliverance.
I stopped an old man along the way
While en route, I ran into an elderly gentleman.
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies
Hoping he would know some outdated lyrics or age-old tunes.
He turned to me as if to say, "Hurry boy, it's waiting there for you"
He turned and, as if he knew what I was seeking, instructed me to hasten because what I desired was waiting for me.
It's gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
It won't be easy to separate me from you.
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
No matter how many men there are, they can't do anything about it.
I bless the rains down in Africa
I appreciate the rainfall in Africa.
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
It will require some time to accomplish what we've never done before.
The wild dogs cry out in the night
During the night, the untamed dogs howl.
As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
As they become anxious, yearning for companionship on their own.
I know that I must do what's right
I know what is right and must go through with it.
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
As undoubted as Kilimanjaro towering over the Serengeti like Olympus.
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become
I aim to cure what's inside me; I'm apprehensive of who I've turned into.
Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you
Hurry, son, because she's waiting for you there.
I bless the rains down in Africa (I bless the rain)
I acknowledge the rainfall in Africa.
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had (ooh, ooh)
We want to do things we've never tried before, and it will consume some time.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: David F Paich, Jeffrey T Porcaro
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind