Archive for February 2012

Your Favourite Chris de Burgh Song According to Facebook

What’s your favourite Chris de Burgh song of all time?

I fed the responses into Stata, removed duplicate entries and cleaned up typos etc. – and here is the final list:

                             SONG TITLE |  VOTES
----------------------------------------+-------
                        the lady in red |    138
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                             borderline |     62
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                          spanish train |     44
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                in a country churchyard |     32
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   carry me (like a fire in your heart) |     26
                 don't pay the ferryman |     26
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             a spaceman came travelling |     25
                            missing you |     25
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                  the snows of new york |     23
----------------------------------------+-------
                  patricia the stripper |     20
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             where peaceful waters flow |     19
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                                 sailor |     17
                           the same sun |     17
----------------------------------------+-------
                               crusader |     15
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           go where your heart believes |     14
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                             lonely sky |     13
                        separate tables |     13
                   the words i love you |     13
----------------------------------------+-------
                   satin green shutters |     12
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                        a woman's heart |     11
                            for rosanna |     11
                 the head and the heart |     11
----------------------------------------+-------
                        high on emotion |     10
                             revolution |     10
                              the tower |     10
                      transmission ends |     10
----------------------------------------+-------
                    diamond in the dark |      9
                       fatal hesitation |      9
        the girl with april in her eyes |      9
                      up here in heaven |      9
----------------------------------------+-------
                  say goodbye to it all |      8
                  the last time i cried |      8
----------------------------------------+-------
                           sailing away |      7
                    the road to freedom |      7
                          the traveller |      7
----------------------------------------+-------
                  here is your paradise |      6
                       just a word away |      6
                         lebanese night |      6
                          natasha dance |      6
                    people of the world |      6
                          ship to shore |      6
                             the leader |      6
----------------------------------------+-------
                               carry on |      5
                            forevermore |      5
                 i'm not scared anymore |      5
                    leather on my shoes |      5
               love of the heart divine |      5
                               songbird |      5
                            the journey |      5
----------------------------------------+-------
                 a rainy night in paris |      4
                              discovery |      4
                           eastern wind |      4
                        everywhere i go |      4
                      fire on the water |      4
                           here for you |      4
                                hold on |      4
                           so beautiful |      4
                            the getaway |      4
                       the simple truth |      4
                   why mona lisa smiled |      4
----------------------------------------+-------
                      always on my mind |      3
                           broken wings |      3
                                 flying |      3
                    i'm counting on you |      3
                             last night |      3
                   living on the island |      3
                    moonlight and vodka |      3
                            perfect day |      3
                           raging storm |      3
                           read my name |      3
                   something else again |      3
                 the mirror of the soul |      3
                           the storyman |      3
----------------------------------------+-------
                           brother john |      2
                     every drop of rain |      2
                              footsteps |      2
                            have a care |      2
                      heart of darkness |      2
                       i love the night |      2
                         i'm going home |      2
            it's me and i'm ready to go |      2
                  just another poor boy |      2
                              leningrad |      2
                    love is my decision |      2
                        man on the line |      2
                          moonfleet bay |      2
                   my heart's surrender |      2
                             old friend |      2
                    one more mile to go |      2
                              one world |      2
                               pure joy |      2
                     saint peter's gate |      2
                          seven bridges |      2
                          suddenly love |      2
                           tender hands |      2
                the ballroom of romance |      2
                        the devil's eye |      2
                 the son and the father |      2
                    when i think of you |      2
                 where we will be going |      2
                you'll never walk alone |      2
----------------------------------------+-------
                                 africa |      1
             all the love i have inside |      1
                        another rainbow |      1
                                 brazil |      1
                             by my side |      1
                    crying and laughing |      1
                              danny boy |      1
                        don't look back |      1
                  every step of the way |      1
                              goodnight |      1
                       hotel california |      1
                i'm not crying over you |      1
                        in love forever |      1
                              let it be |      1
                    much more than this |      1
                       my father's eyes |      1
                     oh my brave hearts |      1
                   old-fashioned people |      1
                      once upon in time |      1
       one word (straight to the heart) |      1
                    riding on a rainbow |      1
                        rose of england |      1
                      shadows and light |      1
             she means everything to me |      1
                               shine on |      1
                               sin city |      1
                        snow is falling |      1
                                    sos |      1
                                 spirit |      1
                   taking it to the top |      1
                  the grace of a dancer |      1
                            the painter |      1
                     the storyman theme |      1
there's a new star up in heaven tonight |      1
     there's room in this heart tonight |      1
                      this song for you |      1
                   timing is everything |      1
               two sides to every story |      1
              waiting for the hurricane |      1
what's a nice guy like you doing in a...|      1
----------------------------------------+-------
                                  Total |    956

That’s 142 different songs! I’m surprised – in a very pleasant way – about the variety of choices: old, new, hits, epics, ballads, love, stories, history, loss, war, peace, family. I’m also surprised that “The Lady in Red” is such a clear winner. On the other end of the list you find my favourite song – or at least my favourite song title as I have never heard “What’s a Nice Guy Like You Doing in a Face Like That?” – of course, I’m glad that other fans mentioned almost all my semi-favourite songs (“Transmission Ends”! “Crusader”! “The Last Time I Cried”! “A Spaceman Came Travelling”! “The Same Sun”!).

Notes: When multiple songs were mentioned I took the first one (unless another one was clearly labelled as favourite). I deleted a couple of songs that didn’t sound like anything Chris de Burgh every performed. Another 23 people indicated that they couldn’t or wouldn’t make a decision. This list is based in the responses I could see with my account; no idea if that’s all. Oh, and here’s the album statistics:

                        album |   votes    no. of songs
------------------------------+---------------------
               into the light |      208          10
                  the getaway |      135          10
                spanish train |      120          10
               flying colours |       61           9
          the road to freedom |       40           9
                 the storyman |       17           9
              man on the line |       40           8
                    moonfleet |       36           8
             the power of ten |       24           8
  at the end of a perfect day |       47           6
             quiet revolution |       43           6
                     crusader |       35           6
far beyond these castle walls |       21           5
                  this way up |       39           4
                 eastern wind |       29           4
         timing is everything |        9           4
             beautiful dreams |        7           4
                  footsteps 2 |        5           4
                    footsteps |        3           2
------------------------------+-----------------------
              (single tracks) |       10           5
               the love songs |       11           3
           (unreleased songs) |        3           3
                   best moves |        3           2
             spark to a flame |        9           1
        notes to planet earth |        1           1