CHESS MUSIC BY BENNY ANDERSSON AND BJÖRN ULVAEUS LYRICS BY TIM RICE ACT I The Story of Chess GREGOR: 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 would satisfy 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. Where I Want to Be ANATOLY: 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 Most of my thoughts All of my 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. How Many Women FLORENCE: How many women would drive themselves crazy By arguing over a game of chess? Not very many -- the way things are going There'll soon be one less! FREDDIE: Don't believe you, sweetie pie -- FLORENCE: Listen, Freddie -- I too had ambitions How did I get waylaid? How can such a flower A sensitive soul, a delicate child Wind up as a nursemaid Respectably set for the glittering prizes Instead of which I landed you -- FREDDIE: You'll get your prizes! I'm ninety percent of the way to the top of the heap. FLORENCE: Thanks -- ten percent -- you got me cheap. FREDDIE: No, no, Florence -- I mean we are ninety percent of the way -- FLORENCE: How many women -- articulate women With something to shout about -- Spend their time Playing a game in which silence is golden And speaking a crime? FREDDIE: Maybe if he moved his king.... FLORENCE: All of my struggles for qualifications -- My nights with Goethe and Proust Recklessly abandoned For you who thinks Chekhov is king to G3 And Joyce my college roommate! But then when I show you a move you can't fathom I have to admit it feels great -- FREDDIE: Great news for chess fans! Yeah, that's how he did it -- yeah, That's how the Communist plays! FLORENCE: Maybe I deserve a raise. Chess Hymn COMPANY: We are one united family Black and White The game our one true guiding light Sweeping through the darkest corners to express Countries, classes, creeds as one in love of chess. Quartet (A Model of Decorum and Tranquility) MOLOKOV: We wish, no, must, make our disgust For 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. ARBITER: It's not just black and white If I may coin a phrase As any neutral would attest. FLORENCE: Though we concede The fact your masters bend the rules is maybe not your fault If they withdraw their psychological assault Then under protest he'll proceed. MOLOKOV: If your man's so sweet Then why his fighting talk? If he says we cheat Then why on earth did he go take a walk? FLORENCE: I am not surprised he wanted fresher air Once he realized there was no hope Of your guys playing fair. FLORENCE & ANATOLY: How sad To see MOLOKOV & ARBITER: It's very sad to see The ancient and distinguished game that used to be ALL: A model of decorum and tranquility Become like any other sport A battleground for rival ideologies To slug it out with glee. ANATOLY: I would say with regard to Him it is hard to Rebut Ever-growing suspicions My opposition's A nut. FLORENCE: I would have said You'd understand the strain and pressure getting where he's got For then you'd simply call him highly strung and not Imply that he was off his head. ANATOLY: But how on earth can someone even Half as civilized and nice as you Be part of such a self-destructive Point of view? I hope he pays you What you're worth. ARBITER: I call this tune No one's immune to my power Once in that hall. MOLOKOV: In that case I must ask you Why you now Preside over a brawl. FLORENCE: I'm not getting rich My only interest Is in something which Gives me the chance Of working with the best. ANATOLY: I can only say I hope your dream comes true Till that far-off day I hope you cope With helping number two. FLORENCE & ANATOLY: How sad To see MOLOKOV & ARBITER: It's very sad to see The ancient and distinguished game that used to be ALL: A model of decorum and tranquility Become like any other sport A battleground for rival ideologies To slug it out with glee. You Want to Lose Your Only Friend? 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. FREDDIE: 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. FREDDIE: Well, how about here and now? Are you for me or for them? FLORENCE: There's a time and there's a place. FREDDIE: 1956 -- Budapest is rising 1956 -- Budapest is fighting 1956 -- Budapest is falling 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. FLORENCE: 1956 -- Budapest is fighting 1956 -- Budapest is dying FREDDIE: They see chess as a war Playing with pawns just like Poland If you walk out on me You're really betraying your father Were he alive now He'd surely be dying of shame. FLORENCE: You know that there's nothing I've done That he'd be ashamed of in my whole life! Why'd you have to do this to me? Someone Else's Story FLORENCE: Long ago In someone else's lifetime Someone with my name Who looked a lot like me Came to know A man and made a promise He only had to say And that's where she would be Lately Although the feelings run just as deep The promise she made has grown impossible to keep And yet I wish it wasn't so Will he miss me if I go? In a way It's someone else's story I don't see myself As taking part at all Yesterday A girl that I was fond of Finally could see The writing on the wall Sadly She realized she'd left him behind And sadder than that she knew he wouldn't even mind And though there's nothing left to say Would he listen if I stay? It's all very well to say you fool it's now or never I could be choosing No choices whatsoever. I could be In someone else's story In someone else's life And he could be in mine I don't see A reason to be lonely I could take my chances Further down the line And if That girl I knew should ask my advice Oh I wouldn't hesitate she needn't ask me twice Go now! I'd tell her that for free Trouble is, the girl is me The story is, the girl is me. One Night in Bangkok FREDDIE: 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. Bangkok, just another stop in The chess world circus -- masters drop in, Play, checkmate, check out and then you Move on to another venue. Like 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. FREDDIE: 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. FREDDIE: Whaddya mean? Ya seen one crowded, polluted, stinking town, yaseen 'em all. COMPANY: Tea, girls, warm, sweet Some are set up in the Somerset Maugham suite. FREDDIE: 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. FREDDIE: 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. 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 massageparlors... 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. Terrace Duet FLORENCE: This is the one situationI wanted most to avoid Nothing I say will convince him this isn't a trick. ANATOLY: A drink on a clear moonlit night --I relax, she smiles There's something peculiar going on. FLORENCE: So, through no fault of my own, I'm in it way over my head. Embarrassed, outnumbered, marooned. ANATOLY: Now she can't be working for them -- I mean us -- She seems to know what she's doing -- But where is he? FLORENCE: He has to show up. It can't come to nothing. Perhaps it can! ANATOLY: Maybe he's scared -- But he didn't seem scared 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. ANATOLY: Well at least she's a good-looking spy. FLORENCE: What if my Russian friend thinks That my plans have nothing to do with the chess? If I don't say something and soon He'll go -- maybe I'm on nobody's side! ANATOLY: Listen, I hate to break up the mood How do you say, begin the beguine Haven't you noticed We're still one character short In this idyllic, well-produced scene? FLORENCE: How could I not? Miss Vassy regrets Anything goes, with your opponent. ANATOLY: Never mind him -- I haven't missed him so far. Maybe it won't do any harm To struggle on without his charm Funny how all at once I feel Nothing about that meeting matters anymore. FLORENCE: This is the one situation I wanted most to avoid. ANATOLY: My dear opponent -- I really can't imagine why. FLORENCE: You'll think I'm the dangerous kind -- Well I am! ANATOLY: You, you're not dangerous -- Who could think that of you? FLORENCE: You -- you are so strange -- Why can't you be what you ought to be? BOTH: You should be scheming, intriguing, too clever by half. ANATOLY: 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 with someone like you. Nobody's Side FLORENCE: 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 Never be the first to believe Never be the last to deceive Nobody's on nobody's side And 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. Better learn to go it alone Recognize you're out on your own Nobody's on nobody's side. Anthem ANATOLY: 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. ACT II Hungarian Folk Song COMPANY: Minden vagyam visszaszall Oda hol az edes hazam var Zold erdo viragos ret S all a regi regi hazam meg Tudom egyszer visszeterek en Wissza meg, vissza meg Bujdosasom veget er S itt vagyok ujra Szep hazamban en. Nem csabit a messzeseg Nem csabit a nagyvilag Elmult minden kisertesem mar. Tudom itthon vagyok Vegre mar, vegre mar Bujdosasom veget ert S itt vagyok vegre Szep hazamban en. [All my dreams go back Where my sweet country is Green woods, flowery meadows And stands my old, old country home I know I shall return Return, return My wanderings will end I'll be there again In my beautiful country. No faraway lands lure me No glimmering cities I am free of temptations. Finally I am home I know Finally, finally My wanderings are over At last I am here In my sweet homeland]. Heaven Help My Heart FLORENCE: If it were love I should give that love every second I have 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 Though I know that time is not my friend I'll fight it to the end Hoping to keep this 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. No Contest WALTER: You take care you don't let Their shenanigans blind you And you're wrong to forget You've got your country behind you. FREDDIE: You're a fool if you think you can wave a flag And inspire some dramatic action If I want bad enough then it's in the bag If I don't you're a mere distraction. WALTER: You taught me, baby How the few who win acquire What their hearts desire It ain't practice, it ain't skill They'll help but not as much as wanting will. FREDDIE: No contest, baby! Pay no mind to reputation You want concentration? When they pick him off the floor It's 'cause I wanted it a little more. WALTER: You can win, you can lose Take or be a possession You taught me how to choose And the key is obsession. FREDDIE: See my eyes, are they safe, are they even sane? Are they warm when they seem to greet you? You don't know, you can't tell, but it should be plain These are eyes that are gonna beat you Don't ever tell me I don't know the way to play it Do I have to say it? Doesn't matter what he tries I have him, you can see it in the eyes. BOTH: No contest, baby! Barely any point in playing When it's just delaying What we both already know He lost it a woman and a half ago. You And I FLORENCE: This is an all too familiar scene Life imperceptibly coming between Those whose love is as strong as it could or should be. ANATOLY: Nothing has altered -- FLORENCE: -- Yet everything's changed. ANATOLY: No one stands still -- BOTH: Still I love you completely and hope I always will. ANATOLY: Why do we need to put love into words? Causing confusion We protest, explain Reassure, in vain Come to no conclusion. FLORENCE: I'd give the world to stay just as we are It's better by farNot to be too wise Not to realize BOTH: Where there's truth there will be lies. FLORENCE: You and I -- BOTH: We've seen it all Chasing our hearts' desire But we go on believing Nothing can harm us This is forever. SVETLANA: You knew better than me Where your ambitions would take us I knew sooner than you That those ambitions would break us You would not believe me Why should you believe me? I held you back You and your dreams. Who needs a dream? Who needs ambition? Who'd be the fool In my position? Year after year I'm still denying Anything's changed Anything's dying. But then -- SVETLANA: & ANATOLY: You and I We've seen it all Been down this road before. SVETLANA: But I still go on pretending Stories like ours Have happy endings. I Know Him So Well 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 Learned a little more before I fell But it took time to understand the man Now at least I know I know him well. 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. Won a few More moments Who can tell? I was just a little But I was Ever so much Careless -- maybe. Younger then. Now at least 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. Pity the Child FREDDIE: 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 never call. A crazy thing to do Just in case she said, "Who?" Lullaby GREGOR: Aludj kicsi lanykam Hunyd be szemecsked Almod edes szarnyan Suhanj konnyeden Apukad eros kezen. Elaludt a parnad Elalszik a feny Suhanj kicsi lanykam Almod kek egen Apukad eros kezen. [Sleep, my little girl Keep your eyes closed On the wings of sweet dream Fly undisturbed On your daddy's strong hand. Your pillow is asleep Soon the lamp will sleep Fly, my little girl On the blue sky of dream On your daddy's strong hand.] FLORENCE: Father? GREGOR: Apuka'd. FLORENCE: Apuka'd.That means "Father, doesn't it?I remember that. GREGOR: Florence. Jatekaid arvan Varnak szerteszet Egyetlen bogarkam [Your little toys Are asleep around you Sleep my little angel] GREGOR & FLORENCE: Aludj konyedenapukad eros kezen. [Sleep gently lulled On your daddy's strong hand.] Endgame ARBITER'S ASSISTANTS: Did you make it clear That he has to be here? Does he understand He will lose his title? ARBITER: How straightforward the game When all the rules are respected... ARBITER'S ASSISTANTS: Did you make it clear There are no exceptions? ARBITER: ...And these rules are the same For a champion or for a novice No show, no dice, no appeal, no exceptions, no way! MERCHANDISER'S ASSISTANTS: Do you think he knows What it's gonna cost him? MERCHANDISER: Does the player exist In any human endeavor... MERCHANDISER'S ASSISTANTS: Do you think he cares What it's gonna cost us? MERCHANDISER: ...Who's been known to resist Sirens of fame and possessions? Threaten to cut off supplies and he'll come out to play. RUSSIANS: He's a broken man: Good as back in Moscow. NIKOLAI: It's the weak who extol Tawdry untruths about freedom... RUSSIANS: What a way to learn Home is where the heart is. NIKOLAI: ...Prostituting the soul Chasing some spurious starlight Trinkets in airports sufficient to lead them astray. C.I.A. MEN: Selfish little creep. Everybody suffers. BEN: I'm no expert in chess But hazard this prognostication... C.I.A. MEN: Selfish little creep.Everybody suffers. BEN: That the late Mister "S" Has better chances of winning The Kentucky Derby than keeping his title today. C.I.A. MEN: Selfish little creep. Everybody suffers. We don't see the jerk Even coming second. JOURNALISTS: We are all aware of reputation But one empty chair is condemnation Of a man who blew it scuttled with dishonor. MERCHANDISERS & C.I.A. MEN: No one gives a damn for his dilemma Just another scam We're sick of them, a Lot of jobs at stake With Russia's primadonna. ARBITER & ASSISTANTS: We can hardly begin to Imagine why he'd risk all he's put into His calling through the years The blood, the sweat, the tears, The late, late nights, the early starts. MORE JOURNALISTS: Of course the effect is Exactly what observers would expect viz. The world is set to cheer The only one who's here The bad guy's gone and won their hearts. EVERYBODY: Is he still in bed? Or in the shower? Even if he's dead They won't allow a Man to show up after the appointed hour. ANATOLY: 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. FREDDIE: So he's gonna fight This situation Where's my appetite For concentration Why is he so focused When my thoughts are straying. Looking at this man It's her I'm seeing Once my greatest fan And now her being His still gets to me And screws the way I'm playing. ANATOLY: Here I see a man caring About a minor sporting triumph, sharing A show with esoterics Paranoids, hysterics Who don't pay attention to What goes on around them They leave all those they touch the way they found them Is this the life I need? A childish, selfish greed While those who love me bleed to death. When I think of her Her and her father What would she prefer? I know I'd rather Live my life alone than feel That I had harmed them. FREDDIE: At last! He's made a mistake! ANATOLY: I cannot go on hurting all the people who have trusted me. FREDDIE: He cannot escape from here! ANATOLY: Well here we are -- The final stages of a soul-destroying game The sacrifice of someone I will never find again. FREDDIE: ANATOLY: Check! Never! Check! Never! Check! Never! Check! Never! Check! Never! FREDDIE: Backed the losing side Florence Vassy Took you for a ride Florence Vassy You just haven't got the instinct of a winner. ANATOLY: There is nothing more to do No hope, no way To save the game; The end of play! So I lose today And tomorrow. ALL: We have just witnessed history made Power moves west ending an era This is a great day for American chess! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.! You And I (Reprise) ANATOLY: Knowing I want you Knowing I love you Cannot compare With my despair Knowing I've lost you. FLORENCE: I've been a fool to allow Dreams to become Great expectations. ANATOLY: How can I love you so much Yet make no move? BOTH: There will be days and nights When I'll want you more than I want to More than I should Oh, how I want you. You and I We've seen it all Chasing our hearts' desire But we go on pretending Stories like ours Have happy endings. ANATOLY: You could not give me More than you gave me I don't know why I'm standing by Watching this happen. FLORENCE: I won't look back anymore And if I do -- just for a moment. ANATOLY: I can't imagine a time when I won't care. BOTH: But here we are today, and it's over Hold me and tell me We'll meet again Why is it over? You and I We've seen it all Chasing our hearts' desire But we go on pretending Stories like ours Have happy endings.