Tommy Körberg & Sissel Kyrkjebø - ENDGAME - from Chess. Live, 1989 (Skellefteå, Sweden)

THE RUSSIAN (Tommy Körberg): 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 To endless trial Of a partner’s rather sad Demands prevailing SVETLANA (Sissel Kyrkjebo): 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 one 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 that I’m my one true obligation (Crowd cheer) SVETLANA AND THE 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, the tears The late, late nights, the early starts There they go again! Your deeds enflame them Drive them wild, but then Who wants to tame them If they want a part of you Who’d really blame them ? (Crowd cheer louder still) 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 SVETLANA: Liar x4 THE RUSSIAN: Never x4 Never—! 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 will not claim The right to steal My work, my name My success, my fame And my freedom