At this point I find myself needing to restrain myself from committing an act of wanton destruction, either against myself, or otherwise against some piece of religious iconography. For as anyone who has seen Chris de Burgh perform this poem live knows already, the spaceman does not simply sing ‘la, la . . .’—he actually sings this: Spanish Train . . . is a tour de force compared to Far Beyond These Castle Walls . . ., and deserves a place in any serious Chris De Burgh fan’s bookshelf. Historical and spatial inaccuracies aside, it constitutes his first serious collection of storytelling songs and will, no doubt, like Eastern Wind and The Crusader, endure for many years to come.

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). [19] 2007–present [ edit ] Michaels, Sean (19 August 2008). "No permission for Chris de Burgh Iran gig". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 12 December 2011. 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 has not had another hit in the US and his commercial fortunes began to slide in Britain in the early 1990s, yet he retained a following around the world. [17] This is mainly due to inactivity of his previous recording label A&M Records UK division in the U.S. [18] Still, stranger things have happened. I recall as a young child hearing some of these poems set to music, as they were collected on the Best Moves compilation—in fact, four poems from this book found their way onto that melodious and moving tribute to Chris’ music, recorded and produced by an unnamed group of aficionados, probably in a castle somewhere in Normandy, after hours and in deep secret, just as in one of Chris’ now-all-too-common espionage poems (I speak, here, naturally, of ‘Moonlight and Vodka’ and the rest).Alumni Awardees 2009/10 - Trinity Development & Alumni - Trinity College Dublin". www.tcd.ie . Retrieved 2 August 2023. And then there’s Spaceman, one of the more curious yuletide songs. The ‘la, la, las’ of the chorus are obviously intended to be a lullaby (as is the whole song) sung to the new-born baby. Indeed, I’ve got my own son to sleep on many occasions by singing him this song (and yes, its probably scarred him for life!) Case dismissed . . . This girl was in her working clothes . . .” —Chris De Burgh, ‘Patricia the Stripper’ Let’s move on, shall we? We were wondering by way of explanation and, as you seem to portray yourself as a bitter and unfulfilled man, were you much teased by your school chums in the schoolyard and called 'Creepy Crawley'? [36] [37]

Can you imagine finding an instrumental version of the song “Don’t Pay the Ferryman” interesting? I can’t, because the drama is in the story he is telling. In so many of Chris de Burgh’s songs, he posits himself as a storyteller – sure, a storyteller with musical skills, but a storyteller nevertheless. In this context, the way Chris (or Cohen, or Dylan – granted, excellent lyricists) tells his story is crucial to the success of the song. Of course, this is one of those arguments we could continue having for quite a while (and as you can probably tell, I’m quite happy to discuss these issues at length, so don’t be shy in expressing your point of view). I mean, really. Unless the soldier was actually ‘writing down this little melody’ in musical notation, it would be next to impossible for his ‘love’ (let alone anyone) to even attempt to ‘sing it’.I’m pleased you’ve continued your series of articles and, once again, you’ve made some comments that I agree with (Patricia is a particularly toe-curling song) and some that I don’t but it’s an entertaining read which I thank you for! I did sense a slightly more caustic tone this time and I’m reluctant to be too critical of a piece of writing that I enjoyed but . . . While, as ever, there’s never enough time to explore these issues deeply, can I just say that I’ll be happy to hear from anyone who has time for Chris, as JDG and Tom obviously do, and that while we may differ in our opinions about what may be his best song or album, what inevitably brings us closer together is our admiration for his songwriting abilities, not to mention the fact that Chris has now been made a goodwill ambassador for the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina against Malnutrition.