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.
Ship To Shore
Chris de Burgh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This line is bad, and fading,
Ship to shore, answer my call,
Send me a signal, a beacon to bring me home;
I have been to see the world,
tasted life at every turn,
And all the time,
Your face came back to haunt me;
Day by day the feeling grew,
I know I'm still in love with you,
The further that I go,
The more I know it, I want to show it,
Ship to shore, do you read me anymore,
This line is bad, and fading,
Ship to shore, answer my call,
Send me a signal, a beacon to bring me home;
Moving fast, all systems go,
You and I had time to grow,
Before there was a breakdown in transmission;
How I wish that we could turn,
The clock back to the days when,
We were lovers in the true sense,
Of the meaning, you must believe me,
Ship to shore, do you read me anymore,
This line is bad, I'm drowning,
Ship to shore, answer my call,
Send me a signal, a beacon to bring me home;
Ship to shore, ship to shore, ship to shore
I cannot believe my eyes,
But I think I see a light;
You are everything I've always,
Wanted in my life;
In this emotional ballad, Chris de Burgh is communicating his longing to hear from someone dear to him who is no longer responding to his messages. He is on a ship, reaching out to the person from the shore, hoping for a signal to guide him back home. While he has traveled the world and experienced different things, memories of the person he is trying to reach have stayed with him and haunt him.
As the song goes on, the feelings of love grow stronger, and he wishes he could turn back time to when things were better between them. He expresses that he still loves this person deeply and wants to show them, but fears the communication breakdown. The final verse brings hope that the person may still be there, with the light beaming from the shore, and that this person is everything that he wants in life.
Overall, the song's message is one of longing and regret over lost love, and the desire to make things right again. It's about reaching out and hoping for connection, even amidst distance and uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
Ship to shore, do you read me anymore,
Asking if the connection between two people is still alive or fading away.
This line is bad, and fading,
The connection between two people is weak and unclear and soon will fade.
Ship to shore, answer my call,
Asking the other person to respond and communicate with him.
Send me a signal, a beacon to bring me home;
Requesting the other person to give a sign to show the way back to their love.
I have been to see the world,
I have visited new places and experienced different things.
Tasted life at every turn,
Experience different flavors or aspects of life.
And all the time,
Despite all that, all the time.
Your face came back to haunt me;
The other person's face and memories keep coming back to his thoughts, and it is affecting him negatively.
Day by day the feeling grew,
Every day his love for the other person grows stronger.
I know I'm still in love with you,
Confessing his love for the other person.
The further that I go,
As he goes forward in life.
The more I know it, I want to show it,
He becomes obsessed with the idea of showing his love to the other person even more.
Moving fast, all systems go,
He is ready to make the next move in their relationship, and everything is perfect.
You and I had time to grow,
They had time to grow together and understand each other.
Before there was a breakdown in transmission;
Before the connection between them was lost, and there was no communication.
How I wish that we could turn,
Expressing his deep desire to go back to the past.
The clock back to the days when,
Going back to the days when they were happy together.
We were lovers in the true sense,
When they were truly connected and loved each other.
Of the meaning, you must believe me,
Assuring the other person that it is essential for them to go back together.
Ship to shore, this is the last time I'll call,
Expressing sadness and the realization that he has to give up trying for the other person's attention.
Ship to shore, my heart's in pieces,
His heart is broken into many fragments.
On the ocean deep,
He feels lost and alone.
Finally, I see a light,
Finally, the other person is giving him the slightest hope.
We're on the same course,
The feeling between them is mutual.
Seems so easy, but it's hard to tell,
Shows ambiguity that this feeling is mutual but not entirely clear.
Ship to shore, do you read me anymore,
The final reminder of the original question he asked; do they still have a connection?
This line is bad, I'm drowning,
He feels like he is losing his connection and himself in general.
Ship to shore, answer my call,
His last desperate attempt to reach the other person before they both separate forever.
Send me a signal, a beacon to bring me home;
His wish to go back to where their love started.
Ship to shore, ship to shore, ship to shore
The way he seems to cling to the hope that the other person still hears his call.
I cannot believe my eyes,
The relief that they are finally on the same page.
But I think I see a light;
The other person giving him signs of hope to continue to move forward.
You are everything I've always,
The other person's presence is everything he ever wanted.
Wanted in my life;
He realizes that he needs the other person more than ever in his life.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRIS DE BURGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kat Cee
Saw him play when I worked as an usher for an NHL venue. He and his band were warming up, He turned to them and ask, 'what shall we rehearse next?' We were marking the floor seats as they played (an hour before the doors opened to the public). My cousin near by, shouted....SHIP TO SHORE!!! He smiled and busted out with the song. It was.....AAAHHHH-MAAAZZZING!
Years ago and it seems like yesterday.
Russell Thompson
I was working on my own at the Garden Centre, trimming roses, and had this blasting out of my phone. Chris's songs got me through long hours of the same thing! Great, catchy song, and I love the morse code touch 😊
Rosemary and Thyme
I remember this song. It was from my childhood! I was actually singing it on one of my mix tapes that I still have 30+ years later.
Lori Warren
Chris Deburgh is an awesome story teller... Music should tell a story... Chris definately does that and his music makes me happy
baseballfan99
The soundtrack to many long car journeys back in the late 80’s early 90’s as a child.
Jake Smith
My Grandma used to play a cassette of him over and over again when I was about 10. This is the first time I've heard him since then, I'm 16 and I love it!
Russell Thompson
You're better off listening to Chris De Burgh than today's patronising pretentious drivel!
pammy bertin
I love this song, a true classic from a great singer!
Martyn Mellow
Reminds me of being a young boy growing up to my Dad's music blaring out on his hi fi. Chris de burgh, Phantom Of The Opera, Jeff Wayne's 'War OfThe Worlds', Fleetwood Mac.... all classic stuff!
Jennie Griffin
U & me got the same Dad!