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.
Where Peaceful Waters Flow
Chris de Burgh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Out here on the journey, for a glimpse of paradise,
It's getting hard to find a place to go,
Where peaceful waters flow;
I took a walk past the old Saxon well,
Down by the cathedral, I heard the chapel bell,
And joined the people singing for a way to go,
And if you don't know by now, you never will,
Only love can find the door,
If you could see it now, it's in your hands,
Only love can reach the shore, to heaven,
Always, she is standing by my side,
She's my inspiration, and she's my battle cry,
And in her arms is the only place I know,
Where peaceful waters flow;
And if you don't know by now, you never will,
Only love can find the door,
If you could see it now, it's in your hands,
Only love can reach the shore, forevermore,
Where peaceful waters flow
The song "Where Peaceful Waters Flow" by Chris de Burgh is a reflective piece on one's journey through life in search of inner peace and happiness. The opening lines of the song suggest that the search has been going on for a long time and the road ahead is challenging. The artist seems to be looking for a place where he can find inner peace and tranquility, away from the chaos and turmoil of the world.
The artist takes a stroll down memory lane, by the old Saxon well and hears the church bells ringing, which reaches out to him in a spiritual way. He joins the rest of the people in singing, which may indicate a sense of communal solidarity, all marching towards a common end. The lyrics suggest that the artist believes that in moments where he is lost, he will find refuge in the peaceful waters that flow through him.
The artist then goes on to talk about love, which he believes is the only way to find the doors to heaven. The phrase "Only love can find the door" suggests that love is the key to opening up new experiences and new journeys in life. Finally, the artist talks about his constant companion in the journey of life- his significant other, who provides him with the guidance and inspiration he needs to keep moving forward, towards a place where peaceful waters flow.
Line by Line Meaning
Restless hearts, it has been a long time,
Our hearts are troubled and have been for some time now.
Out here on the journey, for a glimpse of paradise,
We're searching for paradise but we haven't found it yet and it's a long journey.
It's getting hard to find a place to go,
It's becoming difficult to find a place of refuge.
Where peaceful waters flow;
A place where everything is calm and peaceful.
I took a walk past the old Saxon well,
I went for a walk and came across an old well from the Saxon times.
Down by the cathedral, I heard the chapel bell,
Near the cathedral, I heard the church bell ring.
And joined the people singing for a way to go,
I joined others in singing for guidance in our journey.
Where peaceful waters flow;
Searching for that place of serenity and calm.
And if you don't know by now, you never will,
If you still don't understand, you probably never will.
Only love can find the door,
Only love can bring about positive change.
If you could see it now, it's in your hands,
If you open your eyes, you'll realize that you hold the key to making things better.
Only love can reach the shore, to heaven,
Love can take us to a place of peace and tranquility in heaven.
Always, she is standing by my side,
My inspiration is always with me.
She's my inspiration, and she's my battle cry,
She's what motivates me to keep going and fight harder.
And in her arms is the only place I know,
The only place I feel completely safe and secure is in her arms.
Where peaceful waters flow;
Searching for that place of serenity and calm once again.
And if you don't know by now, you never will,
If you still don't understand, you probably never will.
Only love can find the door,
Only love can bring about positive change.
If you could see it now, it's in your hands,
If you open your eyes, you'll realize that you hold the key to making things better.
Only love can reach the shore, forevermore,
Only love can take us to a place of peace and tranquility forever.
Where peaceful waters flow
A place where everything is calm and peaceful.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: CHRIS DE BURGH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@derwinolszewski6002
Remember when music was like this??? Damn I miss it.
@reuelmelville5232
2020 and still listening...wish more people would.
@vaan1520
We are still here. Beautiful voice, beautiful song. We are always with you brother xx
@jackdobson1992
Timeless music
@dirtycaptain6472
its 2024 and still listening
@robertkelly9508
Underrated yet one of his best songs I reckon.
@rebeccaross2264
I've been buying everything Chris de Burgh recently.
I find his Music very grounding at the moment.
I'm not new to his music but going through a nasty divorce and rebuilding my life/music again🙏❣
Thank you 4 sharing 🙏❣🙏
@marskonigin3911
Ich habe dieses Lied zum ersten Mal heute gehört. Es ist mega schön ❤
Danke NDR 1❤
@cloudyxxsky249
This song is perfectly suited to troubled times like these
@robertlugeni1776
The art in this piece is un equaled