Chess (musical)

Chess is a musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA. The story involves a romantic triangle between two players in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other. Although the protagonists were not intended to represent any specific individuals, the characters’ personalities are loosely based on those of Victor Korchnoi and Bobby Fischer.

Merano

• 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.
  • Citizens of Merano

• 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.

  • The American

Where I Want to Be

• Once I had dreams,
  Now they're obsessions.
  Hopes became needs,
  Lovers possessions.
  • The Russian

• 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.
  • The Russian

The Opening Ceremony

• 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.

A Model of Decorum and Tranquillity

Molokov:		Florence:
It's very sad		How sad
To see the ancient and		To see
Distinguished game		What used
That used to be		To be
	Molokov and Florence:
	A model of decorum and tranquility
	Become like any other sport
	A battleground for rival ideologies
	To slug it out with glee

Nobody's Side

• Everybody's playing the game
  But nobody's rules are the same
  Nobody's on nobody's side.
  • Florence

• Never make a promise or plan
  Take a little love where you can
  Nobody's on nobody's side.
  • Florence

• Never be the first to believe
  Never be the last to deceive
  Nobody's on nobody's side.
  • Florence

Mountain Duet

• I don't know why I can't think of anything
  I would rather do
  Than be wasting my time
  On mountains with you.
  • Florence and The Russian

Florence Quits

• 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 and The American

Anthem

• Long before nations' lines were drawn
  When no flags flew when no armies stood
  My land was born.
  • The Russian

• 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 Russian

One Night in Bangkok

• 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.
  • Company

• I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine.
  • The American

• 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.
  • Company

• I'd let you watch, I would invite you. But the queens we use would not excite you.
  • The American

I Know Him so Well

• Florence: But in the end he needs a little bit more than me —
  More security
  Svetlana: He needs his fantasy and freedom
  Florence: I know him so well
  Svetlana: It took time to understand him
  Florence and Svetlana: I know him so well.

Pity the Child

• 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.
  • The American

• 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?"
  • The American

Endgame

• Anyone can be
  A husband, lover
  Sooner them than me
  When they discover
  Their domestic bliss is
  Shelter for their failing.
  • 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

Epilogue: You and I

• 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 and Florence