|
CHESS: The Musical
|
| Recording |
Song Title |
Characters |
| London |
Merano |
Mayor, Citizens, The American |
|
The Russian & Molokov / Where I Want to Be
|
Molokov, The Russian |
| The Opening Ceremony |
Arbiter, Chorus, Diplomats, Molokov, Merchandisers |
| Quartet (A Model of Decorum & Tranquility) |
Molokov, Florence, Arbiter, The Russian |
|
The American & Florence / Nobody's Side
|
The American, Florence, Choir |
| Chess |
None (Instrumental) |
| The Mountain Duet |
Florence, The Russian |
| Florence Quits |
The American, Florence |
| Embassy Lament |
Civil Servants |
| Anthem |
The Russian |
| Bangkok / One Night in Bangkok |
The American, Chorus |
| Heaven Help My Heart |
Florence |
| Argument |
Florence, The Russian |
| I Know Him So Well |
Florence, Svetlana |
| The Deal (No Deal) |
The American, The Russian, Florence |
| Pity The Child |
The American |
| Endgame |
Molokov, The American, Florence, Svetlana, The Russian, Choir, Crowd
|
| Epilogue: You & I /The Story of Chess |
Florence, Svetlana, The Russian |
|
CITIZENS OF MERANO:
O light the heart
That lingers in Merano
Merano! The spa no
Connoisseur of spas would miss
So healthy
Highly recommended
Is this sweet metropolis
Mental and physical bliss!
The gods have smiled
And bless-ed is Merano
Merano! There are no
Fitter burghers to be found
Such vigour!
Take the time to taste us
We'll give you a welcome that's typically Tirol
For then we are sure of our ground
Right now we're Italian -- we used to be German
The border keeps shifting around
MAYOR:
Speaking as one of the patriarchs
I don't mind taking your lira or marks
CITIZENS:
Oh I get high when I saunter by the mountains of Merano
Rosy-cheeked Merano
Flourishing to a fault
The sparkling streams, the bracing air
The therapeutic salt
I'd have to be carried away to call a halt!
Oh I feel great in this bouncing state o hail to the Merano
Hearty hale Merano
Any objections? Nein!
Where breathing in will turn you on
Where water tastes like wine
Get out your get up and go and get in line
It's living your life in a show by Rodgers and Hammerstein!
O sad the soul
Who passes by Merano
Merano! so far no
Soul has ever passed us by
They love us
Why not stay forever?
Oh so many reasons why
All those in favour say "Aye"
Aye!
So sing a song
Let's hear it for Merano
Merano! Soprano
Alto, tenor, bass agree
We're wholesome
What a happy haven
This is a place where your arteries soften
Cholesterol hasn't a chance
From mountain to valley the natural goodness
Is fighting pollution's advance
MAYOR:
So come to us and feel the force
All major credit cards taken of course
CITIZENS:
Oh I get high when I saunter by the mountains of Merano
Rosy-cheeked Merano
Flourishing to a fault
The sparkling streams, the bracing air
The therapeutic salt
I'd have to be carried away to call a halt
Once in a while all the gods will smile on little old Merano
Humble shy Merano
Suddenly hits the press
And I report with all the pride
And joy that I possess
Half of the world and his wife has our address
Our little town will be rife with games of chess!
CITIZENS: (after a good whistle)
Get up your get up and go and get in line
It's living your life in a show...
THE AMERICAN:
What a scene! What a joy!
What a lovely sight
When my game is the big sensation!
Has the mob's sporting taste
Altered overnight?
Have they found new sophistication?
Not yet! They just want to see
If the nice guy beats the bum
If it's East-West
And the money's sky-high
They all come
You can raise all you want
If you raise the roof
Scream and shout and the gate increases
Break the rules -- break the bank
I'm the living proof
They don't care how I move my pieces
I know I'm the best there is
But all they want is a show
Well that's all right -- I'll be glad to oblige
All right! I'll be glad to oblige
All right! I'll be glad to oblige
S.R.O. S.R.O.
MAYOR & CITIZENS:
Oh I get high when I saunter by the mountains of Merano
Rosy-cheeked Merano
Flourishing to a fault
The sparkling streams, the bracing air
The therapeutic salt
I'd have to be carried away to call a halt
Oh I feel great in this bouncing state o hail to the Merano
Hearty hale Merano
Any objections? Nein!
Where breathing in will turn you on
Where water tastes like wine
Get out your get up and go and get in line
It's living your life in a show by Rodgers and Hammerstein!
Now for the sell
We put the ice into paradise, we are the salt of the earth
Sound as a bell
Check out the waters
And check out the hygiene
At which we excel
Check into an hotel
And schnell
Body and soul
Get well!
MOLOKOV:
The man is utterly mad -- you're playing a lunatic --
THE RUSSIAN:
That's the problem. He's a brilliant lunatic and you can't tell
which way he'll jump -- like his game he's impossible to analyse -- you
can't dissect him, predict him -- which of course means he's not a
lunatic at all.
MOLOKOV:
What we've just seen's a pathetic display
From a man who's beginning to crack
He's afraid
He knows he isn't the player he was
And he won't get it back
THE RUSSIAN:
Nonsense!
Why do my seconds
Always want to believe
Third-rate propaganda --
MOLOKOV:
My friend, please relax
We're all on your side
You know how you need us --
THE RUSSIAN:
I don't need my army of so-called 'advisors'
And helpers to tell me
The man who's revitalised chess single-handed
Is more or less out of his brain
When it's very clear
He's sane
MOLOKOV:
Listen, we don't underestimate anyone
We won't get caught in that trap
After all, winning or losing reflects on us all --
THE RUSSIAN:
Oh don't give me that crap!
I win -- no one else does
And I take the rap if I lose
MOLOKOV:
It's not quite that simple
The whole world's tuned in
We're all on display
We're not merely sportsmen --
THE RUSSIAN:
Oh please don't start spouting that old party line
Yes I know it's your job but
Just get out and get me a chess-playing second
In thirty-six hours we begin
That is if you want to win!
Who needs a dream?
Who needs ambition?
Who'd be the fool
In my position?
Once I had dreams
Now they're obsessions
Hopes became needs
Lovers possessions
Then they move in
Oh so discreetly
Slowly at first
Smiling too sweetly
I opened doors
They walked right through them
Called me their friend
I hardly knew them
Now I'm where I want to be and who I want to be and doing what I
always said I would and yet I feel I haven't won at all
Running for my life and never looking back in case there's someone
right behind to shoot me down and say he always knew I'd fall.
When the crazy wheel slows down
Where will I be? Back where I started.
Don't get me wrong
I'm not complaining
Times have been good
Fast, entertaining
But what's the point
If I'm concealing
Not only love
All other feeling.
Now I'm where I want to be and who I want to be and doing what I
always said I would and yet I feel I haven't won at all
Running for my life and never looking back in case there's someone
right behind to shoot me down and say he always knew I'd fall
When the crazy wheel slows down
Where will I be? Back where I started.
ARBITER:
I've a duty as the referee
At the start of the match
On behalf of all our sponsors
I must welcome you
Which I do -- there's a catch
I don't care if you're a champion
No one messes with me
I am ruthless in upholding
What I know is right
Black or white -- as you'll see
I'm on the case
Can't be fooled
Any objection
Is overruled
Yes I'm the Arbiter and I know best
CHORUS:
He's impartial, don't push him, he's unimpressed
ARBITER:
You got your tricks
Good for you
But there's no gambit I don't see through
Oh I'm the Arbiter I know the score
CHORUS:
From square one he'll be watching all 64
ARBITER:
If you're thinking of the kind of thing
That we've seen in the past
Chanting gurus, walkie-talkies,
Walkouts, hypnotists,
Tempers, fists -- not so fast
This is not the start of World War Three
No political ploys
I think both your constitutions are terrific so
Now you know -- be good boys
I'm on the case
Can't be fooled
Any objection
Is overruled
Yes I'm the Arbiter and I know best
CHORUS:
He's impartial, don't push him, he's unimpressed
ARBITER:
You got your tricks
Good for you
But there's no gambit I don't see through
Oh I'm the Arbiter I know the score
CHORUS:
From square one he'll be watching all 64
ARBITER:
Yes I'm the Arbiter I know the score
CHORUS:
From square one he's watching all 64
DIPLOMATS:
No one can deny that these are difficult times...
It's the U.S. versus U.S.S.R.
Yet we more or less are --
No one can deny that these are difficult times...
-- to our credit putting all that aside
We have swallowed our pride
These are dangerous and difficult times...
It really doesn't matter who comes out on top, who gets the chop
No one's way of life is threatened by a flop --
But we're gonna smash their bastard
Make him wanna change his name
Take him to the cleaners and devastate him
Wipe him out, humiliate him
We don't want the whole world saying
They can't even win a game
We have never reckoned
On coming second
There's no use in losing
It's the U.S. versus U.S.S.R.
Yet we more or less are --
No one can deny that these are difficult times
-- to our credit putting all that aside
We have swallowed our pride
These are very difficult and dangerous times...
The value of events like this need not be stressed
When East and West
Can meet as comrades, ease the tension over drinks
Through sporting links
As long as their man sinks
MERCHANDISERS:
Whether you are pro or anti
Or could not care less
We are here to tell you
We are here to sell you chess
Not a chance of you escaping from our wiles
We've locked the doors, we've blocked the aisles
We've a franchise worth exploiting
And we will -- yes we will!
When it comes to merchandising
We could kill
When you get up --
When you get up in the morning
Till you crash at night
You will have to live your life
With bishop, rook and knight
Clean your teeth with chequered toothpaste
Wear our vests
Our kings and queens on bouncing breasts
You could even buy a set
And learn to play
We don't mind we'll sell you something
Anyway
We've done all our market research
And our findings show
That this game of chess could be around
A month or so
Maybe it's a bit confusing
For a game
But Rubik's Cubes were much the same
In the end the whole world bought one
All were gone
By which time we merchandisers
Had moved on
By which time we had moved on!
ARBITER:
I'm on the case, can't be fooled
Any objection is overruled
Don't try to tempt me -- you've no hope
I don't like women, I don't take dope
I'm the Arbiter I know the score
CHORUS:
From square one he'll be watching all 64
ARBITER:
You got your tricks -- good for you
But there is no gambit I don't see through
I'm the Arbiter and I know best
CHORUS:
He's impartial don't push him he's unimpressed
ARBITER:
I'm the Arbiter my word is law
CHORUS:
From square one he'll be watching you...
EVERYONE (except the players and seconds):
Don't you find it rather touching to behold
The game that came in from the cold
Seen for what it is -- religion plus finesse
Countries, classes, creeds, as one in
Love of chess
MOLOKOV:
We wish, no must, make our disgust at this abuse perfectly clear.
We're here for chess -- are the U.S.? If so, why foul the
atmosphere?
FLORENCE:
I must protest -- our delegation has a host of valid points to raise,
Our player's sporting attitude's beyond all praise, as any neutral would
attest
But we concede the fact his masters bend the rules is not a player's
fault--
We'll overlook their crude political assault and under protest will
proceed
MOLOKOV:
We wish, no must, make our disgust at this abuse perfectly clear
We're here for chess -- are the U.S.? How can you make such a claim?
MOLOKOV: ARBITER:
If your man's so sweet Point 17
Then why his fighting talk? No one-way screen
If he's not a cheat Will be allowed
Then why on earth In the hall
Did he go take a walk?
FLORENCE:
Why let him loose? I am not surprised
He'll soon reduce He wanted fresher air
This great event Once he realized
To a brawl There was no hope
Of your lot playing fair
It's very sad How sad
To see the ancient and To see
Distinguished game What used
That used to be To be
BOTH:
A model of decorum and tranquillity
Become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies
To slug it out with glee
THE RUSSIAN: MOLOKOV:
Through the elegant yelling We wish, no must, make our disgust
Of this compelling dispute At this abuse perfectly clear
Comes the ghastly suspicion We're here for chess -- are the U.S.?
My opposition's a fruit If so, why foul the atmosphere?
FLORENCE: ARBITER:
I don't suppose Point 23
You'd understand the strain The board will be
and pressure getting where Made in Sweden
he's got
For then you'd simply call him Non-aligned wood
highly strung and not
Imply that he was one of those
THE RUSSIAN: MOLOKOV:
But how can you It seems to us
Work for one who There's little point in waiting here
Treats you like dirt? all night for his return
Pay must be good And since a peaceful match is our sole concern
We won't make an official fuss
FLORENCE:
I'm not getting rich In short we rise
My only interest Above your guy's
Is in something which Tantrums, dramas,
Gives me the chance Dirty tricks
Of working with the best.
ARBITER:
THE RUSSIAN: Point 31
I can only say No game begun
I hope your dream comes true By noon goes on
Till that far-off day After six
I hope you cope
With helping number two.
THE RUSSIAN & FLORENCE:
How sad
To see
ARBITER & MOLOKOV:
It's very sad to see
The ancient and distinguished game that used to be
ALL:
A model of decorum and tranquillity
Become like any other sport
A battleground for rival ideologies
To slug it out with glee
FLORENCE:
You want to lose your only friend?
Well, keep it up, you're doing fine
Why this humiliation?
Why treat me like a fool?
I've taken shit for seven years
And I won't take it anymore
THE AMERICAN:
I'm only teasing Soviets
With gentle bonhomie
And you've a better reason to be anti-them than me.
FLORENCE:
There's a time and there's a place.
THE AMERICAN:
Is this the girl who always said
She wants to know the truth?
FLORENCE:
There's a time and there's a place...
CHORUS (repeating):
1956 -- Budapest is rising
1956 -- Budapest is fighting
1956 -- Budapest is falling
1956 -- Budapest is dying
THE AMERICAN:
I'd have thought you'd support
Any attack on these people
On the people who ran
Mindlessly over your childhood
Don't let them fool you for
Thirty years on they're the same
They see chess as a war
Playing with pawns just like Poland
If you walk out on me
They will have won their first battle
Wouldn't your father
Have begged you to stay in the game?
FLORENCE:
He would -- but he didn't know you
He'd loathe your behaviour and so do I --
Why'd you have to do this to me?
What's going on around me
Is barely making sense
I need some explanations fast
I see my present partner
In the imperfect tense
And I don't see how we can last
I feel I need a change of cast
Maybe I'm on nobody's side
And when he gives me reasons
To justify each move
They're getting harder to believe
I know this can't continue
I've still a lot to prove
There must be more I could achieve
But I don't have the nerve to leave
Everybody's playing the game
But nobody's rules are the same
Nobody's on nobody's side
Better learn to go it alone
Recognize you're out on your own
Nobody's on nobody's side
The one I should not think of
Keeps rolling through my mind
And I don't want to let that go
No lovers ever faithful
No contract truly signed
There's nothing certain left to know
And how the cracks begin to show!
Never make a promise or plan
Take a little love where you can
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never stay too long in your bed
Never lose your heart, use your head
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never take a stranger's advice
Never let a friend fool you twice
Nobody's on nobody's side
Everybody's playing the game
But nobody's rules are the same
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never leave a moment too soon
Never waste a hot afternoon
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never stay a minute too long
Don't forget the best will go wrong
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never be the first to believe
Never be the last to deceive
Nobody's on nobody's side
Never make a promise or plan...
FLORENCE:
This is the one situation I wanted most to avoid
Nothing I say will convince him this isn't a trick.
THE RUSSIAN:
A drink on a clear moonlit night -- I relax, she smiles
There's something peculiar going on.
FLORENCE:
So with immaculate timing, I'm left to carry the can
Embarrassed, outnumbered, marooned --
THE RUSSIAN:
Now she can't be working for them -- I mean us --
She seems so very straightforward -- but where is he?
FLORENCE:
He has to come back -- he wanted this meeting, well didn't he?
THE RUSSIAN:
Maybe he's scared -- just as scared as he was in the game.
FLORENCE:
Oh, I just couldn't care less
He can go right ahead, go and wreck his career, I know I've done
my best
THE RUSSIAN:
Well at least she's a good-looking spy.
FLORENCE:
What if my Russian friend thinks that my plans
Are more of an intimate kind?
If I don't say something else soon
He'll go -- Nobody's on nobody's side!
THE RUSSIAN:
Listen, I hate to break up the mood
Get to the point, begin the beguine
Haven't you noticed we're a protagonist short
In this idyllic, well-produced scene?
FLORENCE:
All I can say is moments ago
He was right here ready and waiting
THE RUSSIAN:
Never mind him -- I haven't missed him so far.
BOTH:
Maybe it won't do any harm
To struggle on without his charm
Funny how all at once I feel that he can go jump off the mountain
I won't care
FLORENCE:
This is the one situation I wanted most to avoid
THE RUSSIAN:
My dear opponent -- I really can't imagine why
FLORENCE:
So I am not dangerous then? -- what a shame!
THE RUSSIAN:
Oh, you're not dangerous -- who could think that of you?
BOTH:
You -- you are so strange -- why can't you be what you ought to be?
You should be scheming, intriguing, too clever by half --
THE RUSSIAN:
I have to had it to you
For you've managed to make me forget why I ever agreed to this
farce.
BOTH:
I don't know why I can't think of anything
I would rather do
Than be wasting my time
On mountains with you.
THE AMERICAN:
So you got what you want
What a nasty ambition!
Set me up, pull me down
Then exploit my condition
I should have guessed, woman
That if pressed, woman
You're on nobody's side but your own
And you're behaving
Like a mere woman
It's so clear, woman --
It's your sex!
Once they start getting old and getting worried
They let fly, take it out
On the one who supports them --
That's you I'm talking about
THE AMERICAN & FLORENCE:
Who'd ever think it?
Such a squalid little ending
Watching you descending
Just as far as you can go
I'm learning things I didn't want to know
Who'd ever guess it?
This would be the situation --
One more observation --
How'd we ever get this far
Before you showed me what you really are?
FLORENCE:
You'll be lost without me
To abuse like you're used to
THE AMERICAN:
Go away! Just get out! Be someone else's parasite!
I'm not the kind to be vindictive
Holding some childish grudge
How could I be? I'm in the spotlight
Half of the world my judge
All I demand is those I work for
Those I give all my skills
All my time and pain
Those that I entertain
Give me the same compassion in return
But the fools never learn!
CIVIL SERVANTS:
Oh my dear how boring
He's defecting
Just like all the others
He's expecting
Us to be impressed with what he's done here
But he
Hasn't stopped to think about the paperwork
His gesture causes
We've an embassy to run here
If these people can't strike
Blows for freedom
With a valid visa
We don't need 'em
If we seem offhand then please remember
This is nothing very special
He's the fourth we've had since last November
Who do these foreign chappies think they are?
And when he's safely in the West
He'll be the hero to discuss
The media will lionise him
Fame and fortune plus
No-one will recall it's
Thanks to us
Have you an appointment
With the consul?
If you don't we know what his
Response'll
Be, he will not see you, with respect it
Buggers up his very taxing schedule
Pushing peace and understanding
Let us hope this won't affect it
Far too many jokers
Cross the border
Not a single document
In order
Russia must be empty
Though we're all for
Basic human rights it makes you wonder
What they built the Berlin wall for
Who do these foreign chappies think they are?
And when you've filled in all the forms
And been passed clear of all disease
Debriefed debugged dedrugged disarmed
And disinfected please
Don't forget the guys
Who cut your keys
THE RUSSIAN:
No man, no madness
Though their sad power may prevail
Can possess, conquer, my country's heart
They rise to fail
She is eternal
Long before nations' lines were drawn
When no flags flew, when no armies stood
My land was born
And you ask me why I love her
Through wars, death and despair
She is the constant
We who don't care
And you wonder will I leave her -- but how?
I cross over borders but I'm still there now
How can I leave her?
Where would I start?
Let man's petty nations tear themselves apart
My land's only borders lie around my heart
THE AMERICAN:
Bangkok, Oriental setting
And the city don't know that the city is getting
The creme de la creme of the chess world in a
Show with everything but Yul Brynner
Time flies -- doesn't seem a minute
Since the Tirolean spa had the chess boys in it
All change -- don't you know that when you
Play at this level there's no ordinary venue
It's Iceland -- or the Philippines -- or Hastings -- or -- or this place!
COMPANY:
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
And if you're lucky then the god's a she
I can feel an angel sliding up to me
THE AMERICAN:
One town's very like another
When your head's down over your pieces, brother
COMPANY:
It's a drag, it's a bore, it's really such a pity
To be looking at the board, not looking at the city
THE AMERICAN:
Whaddya mean? Ya seen one crowded, polluted, stinking town --
COMPANY:
Tea, girls, warm, sweet
Some are set up in the Somerset Maugham suite
THE AMERICAN:
Get Thai'd! You're talking to a tourist
Whose every move's among the purest
I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine
COMPANY:
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
THE AMERICAN:
Siam's gonna be the witness
To the ultimate test of cerebral fitness
This grips me more than would a
Muddy old river or reclining Buddha
And thank God I'm only watching the game -- controlling it
I don't see you guys rating
The kind of mate I'm contemplating
I'd let you watch, I would invite you
But the queens we use would not excite you
So you better go back to your bars, your temples, your massage parlours
COMPANY:
One night in Bangkok and the world's your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain't free
You'll find a god in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel sliding up to me
One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me
FLORENCE:
If it were love I would give that love every second I had
And I do
Did I know where he'd lead me to?
Did I plan
Doing all of this for the love of a man?
Well I let it happen anyhow
And what I'm feeling now
Has no easy explanation
Reason plays no part
Heaven help my heart
I love him too much
What if he saw my whole existence
Turning around a word, a smile, a touch?
One of these days, and it won't be long, he'll know more about me
Than he should
All my dreams will be understood
No surprise
Nothing more to learn from the look in my eyes
Don't you know that time is not my friend
I'll fight it to the end
Hoping to keep that best of moments
When the passions start
Heaven help my heart
The day that I find
Suddenly I've fun out of secrets
Suddenly I'm not always on his mind
Maybe it's best to love a stranger
Well that's what I've done -- heaven help my heart
Heaven help my heart
FLORENCE:
I would have thought in the average affair
That the first hint of trouble would be
Oh so small; barely perceptible, easy to miss
Why is ours on TV?
THE RUSSIAN:
Listen -- you know as I do
Nothing's altered at all
I have no intention --
FLORENCE:
Your personal life's
The lead on the news!
How do we ignore that?
THE RUSSIAN:
I do and I must because otherwise I say
Goodbye to my hopes of retaining my title
If I should succumb to emotional blackmail I'm done --
FLORENCE:
Looking after number one!
THE RUSSIAN:
What do you mean?
FLORENCE:
I mean it's always I this and I that
What happened to us?
THE RUSSIAN:
All that I'm saying is I must make certain
That nothing distracts me from chess
When I've won
Then I'll attend to the secondary things --
FLORENCE:
Things like me I suppose!
THE RUSSIAN:
No, no -- you're reacting
Exactly the way that they want
FLORENCE:
It's the way I have to
If I feel concerned I can't put it off
And come back to it later
THE RUSSIAN:
Well if you're determined to jump when they tell you
Then maybe it's best that you do it alone
Watch TV, read the papers, have the miserable time of your life
You could even call my wife!
FLORENCE:
Nothing is so good it lasts eternally
Perfect situations must go wrong
But this has never yet prevented me
Wanting far too much for far too long.
Looking back I could have played it differently
Won a few more moments who can tell
But it took time to understand the man
Now at least I know I know him well
FLORENCE: SVETLANA:
Wasn't it good? Oh so good
Wasn't he fine? Oh so fine
Isn't it madness
He can't be mine? He can't be mine?
But in the end he needs
A little bit more than me --
More security He needs his fantasy and freedom
I know him so well.
SVETLANA:
No one in your life is with you constantly
No one is completely on your side
And though I move my world to be with him
Still the gap between us is too wide.
FLORENCE: SVETLANA:
Looking back I could Looking back I could
Have played things Have played it
Some other way Differently
Learned about the man
Before I fell
I was just a little
Careless maybe
But I was
Ever so much
Now at least Younger then
I know him well Now at least
BOTH:
I know I know him well
SVETLANA: FLORENCE:
Wasn't it good? Oh so good
Wasn't he fine? Oh so fine
Isn't it madness
BOTH:
He won't be mine?
Didn't I know
How it would go?
If I knew from the start
Why am I falling apart?
FLORENCE: SVETLANA:
Wasn't it good?
Wasn't he fine?
Isn't it madness
He won't be mine? He won't be mine?
But in the end he needs a
Little bit more than me --
More security He needs his Fantasy and Freedom
I know him so well It took time to understand him
BOTH:
I know him so well
THE AMERICAN:
Communist, democrat
An intriguing collusion
Fair exchange -- tit for tat
Comradeship in profusion
And the appeal, partner
Of this deal, partner
Is we all stand to win
You and me, the lady also
Don't break her heart partner
Just be smart partner
Let her think that her past
Is as pure as snow in Moscow
Thank god we're so civilised
And our word can be our bond
We can turn this into friendship for life
And beyond --
THE RUSSIAN:
Refugee, total shit
Is how I've always seen us
Not a help you'll admit
To agreement between us
There's no deal, partner
Who's your real partner?
Could there be just a chance
That you've got some heavy clients?
THE AMERICAN (& voice of MOLOKOV):
That's not true, partner
How could you, partner
Think I'd want to pursue
Any deal but our alliance?
How can you only think
Of your selfish ambition?
And not of her position?
Or you'd rather perhaps
See her world collapse?
For a tinpot competition!
THE RUSSIAN:
There's no deal!
THE AMERICAN:
Silly boy, woman who
He should not have let walk out
There's no hitch that we two
Can't untangle or talk out
And the appeal, partner
Of this deal, partner
Is we both stand to win
We'll bring back the golden era
Stick with me, honey
Leave him be, honey
In return I know who'll
Tell you all they know in Moscow
FLORENCE:
Are you sick? Are you mad?
You still don't understand why I loathe you, why I left you?
FLORENCE & THE RUSSIAN:
Who'd ever think it?
Such a squalid little ending
Watch him descending
Just as far as he can go
I'm learning things I didn't want to know
Who'd ever guess it?
This would be the situation
One more complication
Should be neither here nor there
I wish I had it in me not to care
Let him spill out his hate
Till he knows he's deserted
There's no point wasting time
Preaching to the perverted
THE AMERICAN:
When I was nine I learned survival
Taught myself not to care
I was my single good companion
Taking my comfort there
Up in my room I planned my conquests
On my own -- never asked for a helping hand
No one would understand
I never asked the pair who fought below
Just in case they said no
Pity the child who has ambition
Knows what he wants to do
Knows that he'll never fit the system
Others expect him to
Pity the child who knew his parents
Saw their faults
Saw their love die before his eyes
Pity the child that wise
He never asked "Did I cause your distress?"
Just in case they said yes
When I was twelve my father moved out
Left with a whimper -- not with a shout
I didn't miss him -- he made it perfectly clear
I was a fool and probably queer
Fool that I was I thought this would bring
Those he had left closer together
She made her move the moment he crawled away
I was the last the woman told
She never let her bed get cold
Someone moved in -- I shut my door
Someone to treat her just the same way as before
I took the road of least resistance
I had my game to play
I had the skill, and more -- the hunger
Easy to get away
Pity the child with no such weapons
No defense, no escape from the ties that bind
Always a step behind
I never called to tell her all I'd done
I was only her son!
Pity the child but not forever
Not if he stays that way
He can get all he ever wanted
If he's prepared to pay
Pity instead the careless mother
What she missed
What she lost when she let me go
And I wonder does she know
I wouldn't call -- a crazy thing to do
Just in case she said who?
CHOIR:
Morphy, Anderson, Steinitz, Lasker,
Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, Botvinnik,
Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Fischer, Karpov
MOLOKOV:
How straightforward the game
When one has trust in one's player
And how great the relief
Working for one who believes in
Loyalty, heritage, true to his kind come what may
THE AMERICAN:
Though it gives me no joy
Adding to your satisfaction
You can safely assume
Your late unlamented employee
Knows if he wins then the only thing won is the chess
MOLOKOV:
It's the weak who accept
Tawdry untruths about freedom
Prostituting themselves
Chasing a spurious starlight
Trinkets in airports sufficient to lead them astray
FLORENCE:
Does the player exist
In any human endeavour
Who's been know to resist
Sirens of fame and possessions?
They will destroy you, not rivals, not age, not success
THE RUSSIAN:
They all think they see a man
Who doesn't know
Which move to make
Which way to go
Whose private life
Caused his decline
Wrecked his grand design
Some are vicious, some are fools
And others blind
To see in me
One of their kind
Anyone can be
A husband, lover
Sooner them than me
When they discover
Their domestic bliss is
Shelter for their failing
Nothing could be worse
Than self-denial
Having to rehearse
The endless trial
Of a partner's rather sad
Demands prevailing
SVETLANA:
As you watch yourself caring
About a minor sporting triumph, sharing
Your win with esoterics,
Paranoids, hysterics
Who don't pay any attention to
What goes on around them
They leave the ones they love the way they found them
A normal person must
Dismiss you with disgust
And weep for those who trusted you
THE RUSSIAN:
Nothing you have said
Is revelation
Take my blues as read
My consolation --
Finding out at last my one true obligation
SVETLANA & CROWD:
Listen to them shout!
They saw you do it
In their minds no doubt
That you've been through it
Suffered for your art but
In the end a winner
Who could not be stirred?
Such dedication
We have never heard
Such an ovation
Skill and guts a model
For the young beginner
They're completely enchanted
But they don't take your qualities for granted
It isn't very often
That the critics soften
Nonetheless you've won their hearts
How can we begin to
Appreciate the work that you've put into
Your calling through the years
The blood, the sweat and tears, the
Late late nights, the early starts
There they go again!
Your deeds inflame them
Drive them wild, but then
Who wants to tame them?
If they want a part of you
Who'd really blame them?
THE RUSSIAN:
And so you're letting me know --
SVETLANA:
For you're the only one who's never suffered anything at all
THE RUSSIAN:
How you've hated my success --
SVETLANA:
Well I won't crawl --
And you can slink back to your pawns and to your tarts
THE RUSSIAN:
And every poisoned word shows that you never understood
Never!
SVETLANA:
Liar!
BOTH:
Nothing you have said
Is revelation
Take my blues as read
My consolation --
SVETLANA:
Finding out that I'm my only obligation
THE RUSSIAN:
Is there no-one in my life
Who does not claim
The right to steal
My work, my name
My success, my fame
And my freedom?
THE RUSSIAN:
Knowing I want you
Knowing I love you
I can't explain why I remain
Careless about you
FLORENCE:
I've been a fool to allow
Dreams to become great expectations
THE RUSSIAN:
How can I love you so much yet make no move?
BOTH:
I pray the days and nights
In their endless weary procession
Soon overwhelm my sad obsession
You and I
We've seen it all
Chasing our hearts' desire
But we go on pretending
Stories like ours
Have happy endings
THE RUSSIAN:
You could not give me
More than you gave me
Why should there be something in me
Still discontented?
FLORENCE:
I won't look back anymore
And if I do -- just for a moment
THE RUSSIAN:
I'll soon be happy to say I knew her when
BOTH:
But if you hear today
I'm no longer quite so devoted
To this affair, I've been misquoted
You and I
We've seen it all
Chasing our hearts' desire
But we go on pretending
Stories like ours
Have happy endings
CHOIR:
Each game of chess means there's one less
Variation left to be played
Each day got through means one or two
Less mistakes remain to be made
Not much is known
Of early days of chess beyond a fairly vague report
That fifteen hundred years ago two princes fought,
Though brothers, for a Hindu throne
Their mother cried
For no one really likes their offspring fighting to the death
She begged them stop the slaughter with her every breath
But sure enough one brother died
Sad beyond belief
She told her winning son
You have caused such grief
I can't forgive
This evil thing you've done
He tried to explain
How things had really been
But he tried in vain
No words of his
Could mollify the queen
And so he asked
The wisest men he knew
The way to lessen her distress
They told him he'd be pretty certain to impress
By using model soldiers on
A chequered board to show it was his brother's fault
They thus invented chess
Chess displayed no inertia
Soon spread to Persia
Then west
Next the Arabs refined it
Thus redesigned, it
Progressed
Still further yet
And when Constantinople fell in 1453
One would have noticed every other refugee
Included in his bags a set
Once in the hands
And in the minds of leading figures of the Renaissance
The spirit and the speed of chess made swift advance
Through all of Europe's vital lands
Where we must record
The game was further changed
Right across the board
The western touch
Upon the pieces ranged
King and queen and rook
And bishop, knight and pawn
All took on the look
We know today
The modern game was born
And in the end
We see a game that started by mistake in Hindustan
And boosted in the main by what is now Iran
Become the simplest and most complicated
Pleasure yet devised
For just the kind of mind
Who would appreciate this well-researched and fascinating yarn
FLORENCE:
This is an all too familiar scene
THE RUSSIAN:
Hopeless reflections on what might have been
BOTH:
From all sides the incessant and burning question:
FLORENCE:
"Bearing in mind your predicament now --
THE RUSSIAN:
-- what you did then --
BOTH:
-- we're just dying to know would you do it all again?"
CHOIR:
Each day we get through means one less mistake there for the making
BOTH:
But they know full well
It's not hard to tell
Though my heart is breaking
I'd give the world for that moment with you
When we thought we knew
That our love would last
But the moment passed
With no warning, far too fast
You and I
We've seen it all
Chasing our hearts' desire
But we go on pretending
Stories like ours
Have happy endings