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.
This Is Love
Chris de Burgh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's your skin on my skin, it's that look in your eye,
It's the promise of you in the heat of the night,
When you open your door, it's the way that you bring me inside;
I can honestly say I have never before,
Had a feeling so good in my heart,
I can honestly say that I know it for sure,
And I'm in your world;
It's the rhythm of you with your hips on my hips,
It's the things that you do with your mouth and your lips,
The caress of your hair, and your sensual kiss,
It's the way that we share in the moment that goes on forever;
When we finally fall from this heaven I feel,
I am lost in the light of your heart,
Oh sweet angel, it's shining for you and for me,
This is love, this is love, this is love,
And I'm in your world;
Open your arms, open your arms,
And reach for the wonder in me,
Open your eyes, open your eyes and see;
This is love...
The lyrics of Chris de Burgh's song "This is Love" speak about being in love – the feeling of being completely enamoured by someone and the magic that ensues when two people share their lives together. The singer talks about the way the person he loves moves, the look in their eyes, the feel of their skin on his skin, and the way they bring him inside when he enters their home. He believes that this feeling, this relationship, is love, and he hasn't experienced anything like it before. It's a sensation that fills his heart and illuminates his world, one that he never wants to lose.
The song also portrays the physical intimacy between the couple, their chemistry, and the connection they have. It's beyond just the emotions they share; it's about how they express their love towards each other. The singer describes the moment they share, which seems to go on forever, when they fall into each other's arms and he is lost in the light of their heart. The song suggests that love can conquer anything if two people share it with each other entirely.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the way that you move, it's the way that you smile,
I'm drawn to you by the way you express yourself, the rhythm of your body and the kindness you show through your smile.
It's your skin on my skin, it's that look in your eye,
The touching experience of your skin on mine and the way you look at me makes me feel connected to you.
It's the promise of you in the heat of the night,
The thought of being with you when the night is hot and passionate shapes my desire for you.
When you open your door, it's the way that you bring me inside;
The way you invite me into your space makes me feel welcome and wanted.
I can honestly say I have never before,
I have never witnessed a feeling as real and profound as this before.
Had a feeling so good in my heart,
I feel incredibly joyful and happy in my heart.
I can honestly say that I know it for sure,
I'm sure that what I'm feeling is truly love.
This is love, this is love, this is love,
I know that what we share is pure love.
And I'm in your world;
I am now a part of your universe and I am invested in your life.
It's the rhythm of you with your hips on my hips,
The way our bodies move together is so perfectly in-sync, especially when we dance.
It's the things that you do with your mouth and your lips,
I am entranced by the way you kiss and the things you do with your lips and mouth.
The caress of your hair, and your sensual kiss,
When you caress my hair and kiss me, it's such an intensely sensual experience.
It's the way that we share in the moment that goes on forever;
The shared moments we have seem to go on forever, and I never want them to end.
When we finally fall from this heaven I feel,
When we're out of the moment, I feel like I'm falling from heaven.
I am lost in the light of your heart,
Your heart is so warm and full of light that I feel lost in it.
Oh sweet angel, it's shining for you and for me,
The light from your heart is shining so brightly for both of us, and it's beautiful.
Open your arms, open your arms,
Please open up to me and embrace me.
And reach for the wonder in me,
There is so much beauty and wonder within me, I want you to discover it all.
Open your eyes, open your eyes and see;
See the love and beauty that surrounds us and is shared between us.
This is love...
This is true love, and nothing else can describe it better.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRIS, DE BURGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@vickimcconnell6726
Beautiful love song...noone could sing better
@abrarrahman6302
Such an amazing singer... yet, sadly he is so underrated
@aussiek67
Highly underrated album! "Way Up" there with the top albums from Chris!
@amirsamii8850
Another great song from CDB. Brings memories back from 27 years ago when I first heard it. CDB is the best
@bethhaines6340
Hi chris,um thankyou so much for everything that youve done for me chris,youre so wonderful chris and i love you sooooo much with all my heart and i always will.to the moon and back and beyond the gates of heaven above.
@dianavelichkova3137
Beautiful song! ❤️😘
@LupitaSC05
Beutiful song...extraordinary voice...so soft just for love....
@vickimcconnell6726
Ooh☺️love this.great
@TheMarvel786
what a feeling time has come back again......
@danielramatsipele2587
wow,love is on my side again!