It hasn’t stood the test of time. Truth is, it wasn’t a very good song to begin with.

I was playing music earlier this week and dropped a Chris De Burgh best of CD into the player. Yes, I still have physical vinyl records and compact discs in my office.

As the disc played, part of my mind was noting that this music, that I had liked in the late 1970s and early 1980s, wasn’t grabbing me. Partly it was the over-production that makes the songs all sound the same. It was also the stories of the songs just din’t seem interesting anymore.

These were hits. I could still understand why. But for me the magic was gone. Maybe it is because I am old, but don’t we old folks cling to the music of our younger years?

I’ve seen Chris De Burgh in concert a couple of times. I know these songs work better live as a communal experience, which is why I have linked to a live version for this post. On record I don’t hear emotion anymore, not even on “Lady In Red,” which I always found excessively sappy.

It was the bad theology that bothered me most. Even back then I understood the storytelling necessity, but hated the defeatist attitude. To describe “Spanish Train” as theologically confused is being charitable.

I suppose such things don’t matter, as long as we aren’t turning to musicians for spiritual advice. We can just enjoy a song for what it is.

Many years ago I had a friend who struggled with his calling. He was a musician who felt drawn to becoming a pastor. His videos were on MTV, his songs were on the charts, but the business side of rock and roll was not fun.

As his final major label album was being released he called me with a warning. When I got the record, he said, I might find some theological inaccuracies in the lyrics. “Sometimes,” he said, “You have to go with what rhymes.”

So I can forgive Chris de Burgh for the bad theological message of “Spanish Train.” There is no song if he doesn’t downgrade God and His power. Maybe that fits in with his personal belief system – I don’t know.

What I still can’t forgive him for is the sappiness of “Lady in Red.” Today anyway.

Maybe I will feel differently tomorrrow.