“Fatal Hesitation” by Chris de Burgh
“Fatal Hesitation” is very much metaphorical but at the same time based on an easy-to-understand concept. The first verse makes it read like the vocalist is in love with a lady, that being the addressee, whom he met in a vacation town, i.e. as a tourist.
But more to the intended point would be the notion that when the time was ripe for him to kick it, i.e. when the two of them had actually crossed paths, instead of seizing the moment he instead ‘hesitated’. And yes dear reader, in the aftermath of chickening out, Chris is kicking himself so hard that he even describes said irresoluteness as him having exercised “fatal hesitation”.
The Addressee
The implication is that the addressee isn’t someone he just randomly met on one occasion. Or rather their meeting may have been random, if you want to term vacationing as so. But it would also seem that he got to know her well enough to actually fall in love.
That’s to say that the way the lyrics come off doesn’t sound like the type of infatuation a guy may develop having interacted with a lady, regardless of how attractive he may consider her, just once. Instead, the vocalist displays symptoms of genuinely being heartbroken that he let this opportunity pass him by. But that’s just our theory, like maybe true love at first sight, i.e. just from a singular interaction, really can happen like that.
And for all the vocalist knows, if he would have had the courage to shoot his shot doesn’t mean that she would have accepted his hand anyway. But again, that’s besides the point. For the what if of the situation can be said to be what’s proving most “fatal” to his heart, i.e. him not knowing if he could have had her if he tried.
When was “Fatal Hesitation” released?
This track came out on 1 June 1986 as part of Chris’ album “Into the Light”. It should be noted that the mid-1980s going into the 1990s was the singer’s most-successful decade.
And relatedly “Fatal Hesitation”, one of four singles issued from that album, represented by appearing on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally it broke addition the top 10 of the Irish Singles Chart. And to note, “Into the Light” is the same LP from which de Burgh’s signature tune, “The Lady in Red“, was also derived.
Chris wrote this song, with its producer being Paul Hardiman. And it was made public by A&M Records. This is the same label the vocalist had been signed from his 1970s’ professional origins and throughout the 20th century.
