ARBITER’S SONG
ARBITER
I’ve a duty as the referee
As we restart the clock
Of reminding all and sundry I took grave offense
At events
In Bangkok
Just a hint of trouble this time around
And I’ll be on your back
I will jump on all offenders from a massive height
Don’t invite
Any flak
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
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!
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
As you settle down behind your pawns
Power passes to me
You can play like Fischer, Capablanca, Tal combined
I don’t mind –
Please feel free!
They all thought they were the big fromage
But they don’t have my clout
I control the match; I start it, I can call it off
Kasparov
Found that out
I’m on the case
Can’t be fooled
Any objection
Is overruled
Yes, I’m the Arbiter I know the score
CHORUS
From square one he’ll be watching all sixty-four!
HUNGARIAN FOLK SONG
CHOIR
Minden vagyam visszaszall
Oda hol az edes hazam var
Zold erdo viragos ret
Shal a regl regl hazam meg
Tudom egyszer visszeterek en
Vissza meg, vissza meg
Vissza meg, vissza meg
Bujdosasom veget er
S’itt vagoyok ujra
Szep hazamban en
Nem csabit a messzeseg
Nem csabit a naguyvllag
Eimult minen kisertesem mar
Tudom itthon vagyok vegre mar
Bujdoaasom beget ert
Sitt vagyok vegre
Szep hazamban en
HEAVEN HELP MY HEART
FLORENCE
If it were love I would give that love every second I had
And I do
Do I know where he’ll 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 run 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
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 far
Not to be too wise
Not to realize
BOTH
Where there’s truth there will be lies
FLORENCE
You and I
We’ve seen it all
Been down this road before
Yet we go on believing –
BOTH
You and I
We’ve seen it all
Chasing our hearts desire
Yet we go on believing
Nothing can harm us
This is forever
YOU AND I (Reprise)
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
But we went on believing —
You and I
We’ve seen it all
Chasing our heart’s desire —
SVETLANA
But I go on pretending
Stories like ours
Have happy endings
LET’S WORK TOGETHER
MOLOKOV
Now you and I we’ve been around
We’ve seen them all come and go
We don’t need to put each other down
WALTER
I don’t think that I like what I hear
Too sincere
I don’t want to know
MOLOKOV
Don’t be to quick to condemn
And don’t assume you’re on top
WALTER
C’mon Ivan you can’t win ’em all
MOLOKOV
And why not?
Or at least we can go for a draw
WALTER
Tell me more…
MOLOKOV
Only talking shop?
There comes a time when we should pool resources
Could be the answer to our nation’s prayers
Let’s work together for the only course is
To mix our laissez and our savoir faires
You know how much that helps the guys upstairs
WALTER
I hope you don’t misunderstand
For I don’t want to close doors
We’re communicators after all
MOLOKOV
Well, we all have our own point of view
Maybe you
Ought to stick to yours
WALTER
I like to be my own man
But in the light of your words…
MOLOKOV
No…the light was in the envelope
WALTER
Very good!
But it’s time to put rancour aside
Petty pride
MOLOKOV
Strictly for the birds!
WALTER
There comes a time when we should pool resources
Could be the answer to our nations’ prayers
Let’s work together for the only course is
To mix our laissez and our savoir faires
You know how much that helps the guys upstairs
BOTH
Let’s work together and the world is safer
The Berlin Wall becomes a backyard fence
And our cooperation paves the way for
Our prime time leaders and the main events
Behind the scenes we show some common sense
A little mutual convenience
WALTER
Comrade!
MOLOKOV
Buddy!
BOTH
It’s our best defense
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
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
Wasn’t it good?
SVETLANA
Oh so good
FLORENCE
Wasn’t he fine?
SVETLANA
Oh so fine
FLORENCE
Isn’t it madness?
BOTH
He can’t be mine?
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
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
Looking back I could have played it differently
FLORENCE
Looking back I could have played it differently
SVETLANA
Learned about the man before I fell
FLORENCE
I was just a little careless maybe
SVETLANA
But I was ever so much younger then
FLORENCE
Now at least I know him well
SVETLANA
Now at least
BOTH
I know I know him well
SVETLANA
Wasn’t it good?
FLORENCE
Oh so good
SVETLANA
Wasn’t he fine?
FLORENCE
Oh so fine
SVETLANA
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?
SVETLANA
Wasn’t it good?
Wasn’t he fine
FLORENCE
Isn’t it madness
BOTH
He won’t be mine?
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
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 a 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 walked 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 defence, 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?
LULLABY
|
APUKAD |
FATHER |
|
Aludj kicsi lanykam |
Sleep my little girl |
|
Hynyd be szemecsked |
Keep your eyes closed |
|
Almod edes szarnyan |
On the wings of sweet dream |
|
Suhanj konnyeden |
Fly undisturbed |
|
Apukad eros kezen |
On your daddy’s strong hand |
|
Elaludt a parnad |
Your pillow is asleep |
|
Elalszik a feny |
Soon the lamp will sleep |
|
Suhanj kicsi lanykam |
Fly my little girl |
|
Almod kek egen |
On the blue sky of dream |
|
Apukad eros kezen |
On your daddy’s strong hand |
|
Jatekaid arvan |
Your little toys |
|
Varnak szerteszet |
Are asleep around you |
|
Egyetlen bogarkam |
Sleep my little angel |
|
APUKAD & FLORENCE |
FATHER & FLORENCE |
|
Aludj konnyeden |
Sleep gently lulled |
|
Aoukad eros kezen |
By 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 its rules are respected
And these rules are the same
For a champion or for a novice
No show, no dice, no appeal, no exceptions, no way!
MERCHANDISERS
Do you think he knows
What it’s gonna cost him?
Does the player exist
In any human endeavor…
Do you think he cares
What it’s gonna cost him?
…Who’s been known to resist
Sirens of fame an 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
CIA
Selfish little creep
Everybody suffers
BEN
I’m no expert in chess
But hazard this prognostication….
CIA
Selfish little creep
Everybody suffers
BEN
That the late mister S
Has better chances of winning
The Kentucky Derby than keeping his title today
CIA
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, CIA 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 will 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
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 the ones 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
Then 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 will not escape from here
ANATOLY
So 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 instict 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!
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 could 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
Hold me and tell me
We’ll meet again
Why won’t you tell me?
You and I
We’ve seen it all
Chasing our hearts’ desire
But we go on pretending….