Quotes from Chris de Burgh

I'm far more interested in putting a little more meat into the lyrics than some people are.

Robert Browning - I like his dramatic revelations, his allegorical form.

I've been to Australia, Russia and many of places I wanted to see as a child. But I've never visited India. I've had many invitations to play there but it hasn't worked out. People say it's beautiful, but I think I'd react badly to the poverty.

You see, when I go on stage I perform with just a guitar and you have to have very strong material to hold an audience from getting bored or restless. One strong way of doing that is the story because everybody will listen to a story.

Philanthropy is never understood by those who don't have it in their own hearts.

You get pigeonholed. It's a kind of safety device for people who don't really want to look any further outside of the box, but I'm actually impregnable as far as what people say about me.

I always have to have what I believe are the pillars of an album - songs which I can go back to and admire personally as a piece of writing.

In an outdoor environment, you need to be more energetic. The attention of the crowd begins to wander - not like an indoor concert where the audience attention is riveted on to the stage.

Canada has a great tradition of supporting songwriters.

If you love yourself there's plenty left for everyone else. You just have to deflect natsy things.

I can fix dishwashers. I was brought up in a castle with no money and lots of imagination. I learnt a lot about plumbing at an early age.

Love songs are the most complex to write because everyone knows about it.

I know what it's like to go to a concert, wait to hear your favourite song - and then they don't play it!

Most years, I do 70 or 80 concerts.

When you have children, you almost feel like you've made your contribution to the survival of the human species. It's your way of passing the baton.

We are not politically naive.

I'm not a big consumer at all. I'm very happy with enough.

Americans are much easier to please than Canadians. The American taste is less critical. Canadians are more cultured, they are more aware of the arts than Americans.

I met someone in the West Indies who was not able to walk. I put my hands on him and he was able to get up. I know the tabloids will get excited by this so I try to play it down.

Songs don't just suddenly arrive like a taxi you have to work on them and you have to put a lot of time and energy and self discipline into creating that kind of thing.

Vanity is not high on my list of priorities.

You know what happens if I walk out on the stage in Montreal? They stand up and they cheer for three or four minutes. It just brings tears to your eyes, because it's a love affair.

When I held my first album in my hands, I tell you, there were tears falling down my face. I thought 'This is it. I've arrived. I'm going to be an overnight world star.'

The relationship between parents and children who live together is a growing one, and it shifts every day, especially during the teenage years.