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.
It's Such A Long Way Home
Chris de Burgh Lyrics
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Trying to write a letter just to show you that I'm well,
But I've been watching all the people as they cross the marketplace,
And though there really is no reason, I've been looking for your face,
It's such a long way home,
It's such a long way home,
It's such a long way;
Standing by the aeroplane she held me in her arms,
And as we turned to fly away I saw her standing on her own,
It seemed her hand was waving not goodbye but "Please come home",
It's such a long way home,
It's such a long way home,
It's such a long way;
Oh so many people have to travel away,
From the ones that they love and they need,
But I want to tell you that all your life,
You can depend on me;
Far away a saxophone lingers on a tune,
And it's the kind of song that someone wrote for lovers and a moon,
And as the band begins to play it, with a shock I realize,
That it's a song we sang together and it nearly makes me cry,
It's such a long way home,
It's such a long way home,
It's such a long way home
It's such a long way, yes, such a long way home.
The song "It's Such A Long Way Home" by Chris de Burgh is a heartbreaking ballad about longing and distance. The lyrics describe a person who is writing a letter to their loved one from a broken-down hotel room, far away from home. They are watching people cross the marketplace and hoping to catch a glimpse of their loved one's face, even though they know it's unlikely. The distance between them feels impossibly vast, and the journey home seems overwhelming.
The song shifts to a memory of the singer leaving on an airplane, their loved one holding them tightly and whispering a prayer for their safety. The image of their loved one waving goodbye evokes the pain of separation and the yearning to be reunited. The singer declares their fidelity to their loved one and reassures them that they can depend on them for their entire lives.
The song ends with the haunting sound of a saxophone playing a love song, which the singer realizes was a tune they once sang together. This moment of recognition brings the emotions to a head, and the singer can't help but feel overwhelmed with sadness and homesickness. Despite the distance and the challenges of being apart, the singer's love for their partner remains strong.
Line by Line Meaning
Sitting by the window of this broken-down hotel,
I am sitting by the window of a damaged, run-down hotel
Trying to write a letter just to show you that I'm well,
I am attempting to write a letter to prove that I am in good health to someone
But I've been watching all the people as they cross the marketplace,
I have been observing people as they move through the market area
And though there really is no reason, I've been looking for your face,
Without any specific motive, I have been searching for your face
It's such a long way home,
The journey back home is excessively long
It's such a long way home,
The journey back home is excessively long
It's such a long way;
The way is indeed lengthy
Standing by the aeroplane she held me in her arms,
She embraced me by the airplane
And then she whispered "Oh dear Lord don't let him come to any harm"
She whispered, "God, please protect him from injury"
And as we turned to fly away I saw her standing on her own,
As we departed, I noticed her standing by herself
It seemed her hand was waving not goodbye but "Please come home",
Her hand gesture appeared to represent "Please return home" rather than farewell
It's such a long way home,
The journey back home is excessively long
It's such a long way home,
The journey back home is excessively long
It's such a long way;
The way is indeed lengthy
Oh so many people have to travel away,
Many people are required to travel far from their loved ones
From the ones that they love and they need,
From those that they have a deep affection towards and require
But I want to tell you that all your life,
I want to inform you that for the entirety of your life
You can depend on me;
You can count on me
Far away a saxophone lingers on a tune,
In the distance, a saxophone continues to play a melody
And it's the kind of song that someone wrote for lovers and a moon,
It is a song that was composed for people in love and the moon
And as the band begins to play it, with a shock I realize,
As the band starts playing it, I become surprised as I realize
That it's a song we sang together and it nearly makes me cry,
That it is a song we sang collectively, and it almost brings me to tears
It's such a long way home,
The journey back home is excessively long
It's such a long way home,
The journey back home is excessively long
It's such a long way home
The journey back home is excessively long
It's such a long way, yes, such a long way home.
The journey back home is undeniably long
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRIS DE BURGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind