| Fast genau vor drei
Jahren, nämlich am 27.11.2000, hatten wir auf dieser Homepage ein
kleines Special
über den irischen Singer und Songwriter Chris de Burgh und sein Album
"Best Moves" mit einem Schachmotivcover. Hierzu gibt es Aktuelles zu vermelden!
Auf seiner offiziellen
Homepage führt de Burgh eine Rubrik, in welcher er
regelmäßig per Mail an die Redaktion eingesandte Fragen persönlich
beantwortet. Was also lag näher, als zwei meiner Vorlieben zu verbinden,
und den besten Musiker der Welt direkt nach dem Cover zu befragen!? Ich
murkste mir also mit meinen alten Schulenglischkenntnissen eine Frage zusammen
und tatsächlich: am 04.10. wurde sie - mit entsprechender Antwort
- veröffentlicht. Anbei noch eine zweite schachliche Frage eines anderen
de Burgh-Fans an den Iren v. 15.08., welche eher allgemein auf Chris' Schachkenntnisse
abzielt. Ich habe lediglich den englischen Originaltext wiedergegeben (Link
zur Quelle). Der Vollständigkeit halber ist am Ende
dieser Seite der englische Text des Liedes "Spanish Train" (1975) aufgeführt,
auf welches im Folgenden Bezug genommen wird.
Einleitende Bilder zum Text:
(zur Vergrößerung anklicken)
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Cover "Best Moves",
1981
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Stellung vom Cover,
Kaplan vs. Bronstein
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October 4, 2003
Frank Modder (29)
from Bunde, Germany:
Dear Chris! I’m a
fan of you and your music since 1982. I was an eight-year-old boy then
who listened to your Getaway-LP,
and this album is
still a favourite of mine. But my question is on behalf of your Best Moves-album.
As a big chess
enthusiast I wonder
not only why you chose a chess cover (okay, Best MOVES), but why you chose
just that position. This
is the final position
of the game Kaplan vs. Bronstein, played in Hastings 1975/76. White has
more material, but will lose
the game, because
he has no good moves in the long run. Is there any meaning in it and do
you have any connections to
chess in general (I
also think about the last words of the song "Spanish Train", where the
Lord and the devil are playing
chess)? Thank you
and I wish you good luck for the future and I’m really looking forward
to listen to your next album!
Chris de Burgh:
When we decided on
the cover of “Best Moves” I wanted to do the picture and have a genuine
game of chess going on that
occasionally somebody
somewhere sometime would spot. And it appears to be that Frank Modder has
spotted what’s
going on here! Yes,
it is very much based on the Spanish Train story about black and white,
good and evil. And white will
lose the game as you
may have noticed. As I said earlier, I play chess but not particularly
well. But this one, the Lord and
the Devil are playing
chess, and that is exactly what is happening on the front cover of the
“Best Moves” album, and that
particular game, the
Kaplan vs. Bronstein, was one that we found in a book and replicated on
the cover.
August 15, 2003
Bas van Nunen (35)
from Alkmaar, The Netherlands:
Chris, thank you for
so many years of beautiful music. I was one of those people who couldn't
attend your concert last year.
Maybe this summer
I'll go to one of the German ones. Anyway, on the cover of the album "Best
Moves" you are playing
chess, as all chess
players know, you're playing your biggest opponent, yourself. Do you really
play chess?
Chris de Burgh:
The cover of “Best
Moves” was put together with genuine chess moves. I do play chess, not
very often. My two sons play
together quite a bit,
and it’s great watching them learning the game. It’s a very complicated
game. And if we are on holidays
and they are on one
of those big areas where you have chess pieces that you can walk around
and move around, it’s great
to see that. And in
chess, I think in virtually everything, your biggest opponent is yourself.
It certainly applies to games like
golf where one day
you can go and play golf brilliantly and really exceed your abilities,
and the next days for absolutely no
other reason except
it’s another time and another day, you can hit terrible shots. So it is
very much a game of concentration
and self-belief.
Spanish Train
There's a Spanish train
that runs between
Quadalquivir and old
Saville,
And at dead of night
the whistle blows,
and people hear she's
running still...
And then they hush
their children back to sleep,
Lock the doors, upstairs
they creep,
For it is said that
the souls of the dead
Fill that train ten
thousand deep!!
Well a railwayman lay
dying with his people by his side,
His family were crying,
knelt in prayer before he died,
But above his head
just a-waiting for the dead,
Was the Devil with
a twinkle in his eye,
"Well God's not around
and look what I've found,
this one's mine!!"
Just then the Lord
himself appeared in a blinding flash of light,
And shouted at the
devil, "Get thee hence to endless night!!"
But the Devil just
grinned and said "I may have sinned,
But there's no need
to push me around,
I got him first so
you can do your worst,
He's going underground!!"
"But I think I'll give
you one more chance"
said the Devil with
a smile,
"So throw away that
stupid lance,
It's really not your
style",
"Joker is the name,
Poker is the game,
we'll play right here
on this bed,
And then we'll bet
for the biggest stakes yet,
the souls of the dead!!"
And I said "Look out,
Lord, he's going to win,
The sun is down and
the night is riding in,
That train is dead
on time, many souls are on the line,
Oh Lord, he's going
to win!.."
Well the railwayman
he cut the cards
and he dealt them
each a hand of five
And for the Lord he
was praying hard
or that train he'd
have to drive...
Well the Devil he
had three aces and a king,
and the Lord, he was
running for a straight,
he had the queen and
the knave and the nine and ten of spades,
All he needed was
the eight...
And then the Lord he
called for one more card,
but he drew the diamond
eight,
And the Devil said
to the son of God,
"I believe you've
got it straight,
So deal me one for
the time has come
to see who'll be the
king of this place,
But as he spoke, from
beneath his cloak,
he slipped another
ace...
Ten thousand souls
was the opening bid,
and it soon went up
to fifty-nine,
but the Lord didn't
see what the Devil did,
and he said "that
suits me fine",
"I'll raise you high
to hundred and five,
and forever put an
end to your sin",
But the Devil let
out a mighty shout, "My hand wins!!"
And I said "Lord, oh
Lord, you let him win,
The sun is down and
the night is riding in,
That train is dead
on time, many souls are on the line,
Oh Lord, don't let
him win..."
Well that Spanish train
still runs between,
Quadalquivir and old
Saville,
And at dead of night
the whistle blows,
And people hear she's
running still...
And far away in some
recess
The Lord and the Devil
are now playing chess,
The Devil still cheats
and wins more souls,
And as for the Lord,
well, he's just doing his best...
And i said "Lord, oh
Lord, you've got to win,
The Sun is down and
the night is riding in,
That train is still
on time, Oh my soul is on the line,
Oh Lord, you've got
to win..."
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