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Brother John by Chris de Burgh , reviewed by Bryce Anderson
Album: This Way Up

There are a few controversial songs that Chris de Burgh has written.

Some may think "Spanish Train" is, simply because the Devil is the ultimate winner in a game of poker with the Lord, for the souls of the dead. "Blonde Hair, Blue Jeans" has also drawn some degree of controversial comment, because it is quite a departure from Chris' traditional "family" line of songs.

"Brother John" is also a departure from the usual de Burgh lyric.

The underlying theme is one of temptation - to a member of the clergy. In this light, it reminds me of "Spanish Train" - simply because of the outcome. "Blonde Hair, Blue Jeans" also shows through in the song, because of the sexual overtones that seem to predominate the music. "Brother John" is fairly deep though, whereas Blonde Hair,Blue Jeans is fairly shallow:

Brother John is a monk (or the like) who has obviously been admiring a fine looking young lady for a considerable time. As to John's religious qualities, we really don't get to see much of them.

Well Brother John went down to the garden, On a long hot summer's day.
To watch that girl he would hide in the shadows, As she worked the time away,
With her long black hair and her eyes of fire, And a body to drive men crazy,
It was on that day there would be a change, In the world of Brother John;

Whether the young lady is a harlot or not remains to be seen, but she, apparently, has been aware of John's admiration, and is willing to oblige his affections. The reference to the Devil is the first reference to anything resembling religion in the song.

She felt his eyes and she walked up beside him, And she took him by the hand,
She said "Brother John, it's so hard to be holy, Would you like to be a man?
I will meet you tonight at the monastery wall, If you're there we will find out together,
And the Devil said, ""There's a place in Hell, For the soul of Brother John."

The chorus crescendos and really summarizes the song. I think the monotony of a monks life shines through with the word "Hallelujah" - as if to say that the monotony has been broken and his dreams (lusts) have been fulfilled.

Hallelujah! Temptation is here,
It's not a dream anymore,
Hallelujah! it's finally here,
I've been waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting...

Even though the opportunity has come, and John can grasp his dream, he still has the inner conflict of whether or not to go against his vows of chastity. The reference to the sins of the flesh comes straight from the Bible [Colossians 2:11-12] "...in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead."

Interesting that this scripture also refers to baptism - one of the commitments that Brother John is breaking.

Well Brother John lay tossing and turning, In his bed in the heat of the night,
He heard his name and he went to the window, There she was in the clear moonlight;
Oh the sins of the flesh are too much to deny, He was lost to her body forever,
And the Devil laughed and the angels cried, For the soul of Brother John;

The chorus is repeated twice more, and then kind of a fade out with chanting in the background.

Hallelujah! Temptation is here,
It's not a dream anymore,
Hallelujah! it's finally here,
I've been waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting...

Hallelujah! Temptation is here,
It's not a dream anymore,
Hallelujah! it's finally here,
I've been waiting, I'm waiting, I'm waiting...

Temptation is here for Brother John, Temptation is here for Brother John...

As in "Spanish Train", the Devil is the ultimate winner in this song. I think Chris de Burgh showed great depth and insight in this song as to the feelings and inner turmoil that Brother John went through. I can understand the controversy, but I think that reality is dealt with, here; thus I like the song. I'd rate it a 7 (out of 10). The interesting thing here is that I'd say that it ranks as number 9 out of 12 songs on the "Power of Ten" album. This reflects the excellence of the album, rather than the quality of the song.