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.
Flying
Chris de Burgh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for the plane to leave,
And the captain says, "There'll be a short delay,
Bear with me please,"
They gave us the usual hassle,
"You can't take those guitars on board,"
But the boys in the band just smiled,
And as they're starting to serve champagne,
To the folks at the front of the plane,
I can hear the engines roaring, we're on our way,
And we are flying home,
I feel the freedom in my soul,
Flying home at last;
Flying home,
I've got the freedom in my soul,
And it's four in the morning,
My world is calling,
Speeding through the universe tonight...
The movie reminds of my lady,
As she waits, "where are those guys?"
Yes it's nice to see old Butch and Sundance in the sky,
And now the sun is beginning to rise,
It's like looking down on Paradise,
There's a ball of fire that's burning, giving life,
And we are flying home,
I feel the freedom in my soul,
Flying home at last;
Flying home,
I've got the freedom in my soul,
And it's four in the morning,
My world is calling,
Speeding through the universe tonight
In Chris de Burgh's song Flying Home, the lyrics explore the experience of being on a plane, waiting for it to take off, and the sense of freedom that comes when it finally does. The song conveys the anticipation and excitement of travel, as well as the joy of returning home after a long journey. The mention of the band on board and their guitars being scrutinized by airport staff adds another layer to the song, highlighting the difficulties that musicians face in transporting their instruments. Despite this, the band remains calm and composed, having encountered these challenges before.
The chorus of the song, "Flying home, I feel the freedom in my soul," encapsulates the main theme of the lyrics. The idea of feeling free and unburdened while on a journey is something that many people can relate to. The song suggests that traveling can be a transformative experience, allowing for personal growth and change. The mention of the sun rising and the beautiful view from above further emphasizes the beauty of travel and the joy of experiencing new sights and sounds.
Overall, Flying Home is a song about the joy of travel, the anticipation of returning home, and the freedom that comes with both. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of being on a plane, waiting for takeoff, and the sense of relief and excitement when that moment finally arrives.
Line by Line Meaning
We're sitting out here on the runway,
We are waiting for our plane to take off.
Waiting for the plane to leave,
We are waiting for the airplane to take off from the ground.
And the captain says, "There'll be a short delay, Bear with me please,"
The captain of our plane is informing us that there will be some delay and asking us for patience.
They gave us the usual hassle,
We were subject to the same routine security checks and questioning as always.
"You can't take those guitars on board,"
The flight attendants told us that we cannot carry our guitars inside the plane.
But the boys in the band just smiled, Heard it all before,
The members of our band are used to such situations and remained calm.
And as they're starting to serve champagne,
The airline staff is beginning to serve champagne to the first-class passengers.
To the folks at the front of the plane,
The airline attendants are serving champagne to the passengers seated at the front of the plane.
I can hear the engines roaring, we're on our way,
The sound of the engines is audible, indicating that our plane is moving.
And we are flying home,
We are flying towards our home.
I feel the freedom in my soul,
I am filled with a sense of freedom and liberation.
Flying home at last;
We are finally en route to our home after a long time.
Flying home,
We are flying towards our home.
I've got the freedom in my soul,
I feel completely free inside and have no worries.
And it's four in the morning,
It is currently four o'clock in the morning.
My world is calling,
I have many responsibilities that I must return to soon.
Speeding through the universe tonight...
Our plane is moving rapidly through the vast expanses of space to reach our destination.
The movie reminds of my lady,
The movie that is playing reminds me of my loved one.
As she waits, "where are those guys?"
My partner may be wondering where we are and what is taking so long.
Yes it's nice to see old Butch and Sundance in the sky,
It is pleasant to see the planes that resemble the ones from the classic movie 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.'
And now the sun is beginning to rise,
The sun is slowly rising above the horizon.
It's like looking down on Paradise,
The view from the plane seems like a beautiful paradise.
There's a ball of fire that's burning, giving life,
The sun appears as a bright ball of fire and is a source of life for all creatures on Earth.
And we are flying home,
We are flying back to our home.
I feel the freedom in my soul,
I am filled with a sense of freedom and liberation.
Flying home at last;
After a long time away, we are finally returning to our home.
Flying home,
We are flying back towards our home.
I've got the freedom in my soul,
I am free of any worries or cares and feel completely liberated.
And it's four in the morning,
The time is currently four o'clock in the morning.
My world is calling,
I have a lot of work to do and responsibilities to attend to.
Speeding through the universe tonight
Our airplane is traveling through space at a great speed.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRIS DE BURGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Clarisse 26
Alguém mais ouvindo essa linda música em 2020, em plena quarentena? Anyone else listening to this beautiful song in 2020, in full quarantine? ❤️❤️❤️
Teddy Presley
2022
Pedro Santana
Of course
Lourival Galante Galant
linda música, perfeitaaa!!!!! Adoro e não me canso de ouvir!!!
Preciosa05
Esta canción me recuerda cuando era muy chiquita y tuve mi primer novio, y cuando terminamos la escuchaba y solia llorar en silencio, fue un gran amor, ni modo a veces la vida te da tantas vueltas, en fin, donde se encuentre que sea feliz, saludos, bonito video, gracias.
Dora Wierna
Soy otra bendecida con esta canción baile con mi primer amor, Dios toque el cielo con las manos, que maravilloso volver a escuchar esta delicia tan romántica...
CLAUMUSICTALES
...LÁ PELOS ANOS 75/76 TOCAVA ESTA MÚSICA, QUANDO FUI MORAR NO BRASIL, LEMBRO DE UMA FAZENDA QUE FUI PARA UMA FESTA DE ANIVERSÁRIO DE 50 ANOS E O FILHO DESTE SENHOR NAO PARAVA DE CANTAR FLYING...
Preciosa05
Quien lo diría querido amigo...regresé a escuchar tan hermosa canción, aquí de nuevo, gracias por la joya...bendiciones...Oli
Adelmo Oliveira
Que música incrível! Dessas que a gente não cansa de ouvir!
Elia santos
essa é a musica da minha vida! quando eu morrer quero que toque no meu velório