You Are The Reason

You Are The Reason by Chris de Burgh , reviewed by Dave Doohan
Album: This Way Up

You Are The Reason is a tale of shattered dreams, and how the love of a woman can put all this in to perspective and give you something to carry on fighting for, and to hold on to, even when you firmly believe that everything has gone wrong. From this love of a woman, you get the strength to try again.

"A shadow in the moonlight, here she comes to me,
We sit and talk about it all
And out in the distance, a dream is over,
All I've been working for"

It is quite easy to picture any number of scenarios here, college or university courses maybe, or that vital work project that was going to bring the big promotion, either way the image is of the man sitting in his study, brooding late at night, when along comes this lady, silhouetted in the moonlight and she sits down with him, and they talk it all over.

"This is not how I want you to see me,
I have done the best I can,
Now the only thing I believe in,
Is a woman and a man."

This is not how I want you to see me - you can just feel the wounds, the shattered pride, the destroyed belief that this was going to be IT and now it's gone. "I have done the best I can" but it wasn't enough.

"You are the reason I'll stay in the fight,
When I can't take it any more.
You are the reason I wake in the night,
And say that I, was only dreaming of it all."

This is the phase of telling yourself that however much you wanted this thing to work, however hard it has hurt you to see it fail, you have the love of a woman to hold on to, to help you "Stay in the fight" and try yet again.

"And now in the dawnlight, she talks with me again,
Remember all the things we've done
Been through the bad times, and we've seen through the sad times
We're stronger than before"

The crux here is that the relationship has had its ups and downs, its bad moments, but at the end of the day it is a stronger relationship than ever. Good has come from the bad, and this is the point to be made by the woman about the present failure.

"And you picked me up when I was falling,
And you gave me back my pride
And you listen when I am calling,
And hear the man inside."

The thanks, that's what those last lyrics are, the thanks for helping, for acknowledging the "manhood" but not leaving me to get on with things in a "manly" way - for putting me back together again.

"You are the reason, I'll stay in the fight,
When I can't take it anymore,
You are the reason I wake in the night,
And say that I was only dreaming of it all
You are the reason I'll stay in the fight."

A thank you love song if ever there was one. All about pride, failure, love and thanks for that love. It's easy to speculate that Chris was aiming this at Diane, saying, yes I know things have been bad, and I aimed away and lost sight of the big project, but you are so understanding I'm back on my feet now. Thank You. We'll never really know - but it's a lovely song, and when you are feeling down it will fill you with tears but give you an inner strength at the same time. Or at least, that's how I see it.

Questions or comments?

File last modified on October 15^th, 1996