The Discman

GM Kevin Spraggett included chess videos in his entry of Tuesday, April 26, 2011, on his fantistic blog (http://kevinspraggett.blogspot.com/). They are, shall we say, unique. Here are the links:
A Chess Song (maneater) by kathified
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fngiLiuK6I&feature=player_embedded

A Chess Song (take me away)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1pLJ6aoBbk&feature=player_embedded#at=40

HOW TO PLAY CHESS! (the battle)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2CkHLAM_oc&feature=player_embedded#at=21


I mention this because I received an email from my friend, the Discman, a chess National Master, who cashed in at last year's World Series of Poker. I would look forward to Wednesday evenings at the House of Pain because the Discman would come for the 15 minute tournament. Before the House had a computer, the Discman would print out The Week In Chess and bring it for the center, which usually meant me because most of those coming came only to play. Although younger than my generation, the Discman would have fit in nicely at Woodstock with his love of the music from my era. Living in the suburbs of Atlanta requires many hours on the roads of Atlanta filled with jam-packed traffic. What better way to fill the time than with good music? The Discman sent me a file of each and every one of the songs he had years ago and I was astounded. Knowing the Discman is one of the best things about the game of chess, for that is how we met. Though many miles seperate us, and we no longer play tournament chess, the love of music is a bond that has kept us together through the internet.

Yo nocaB,
Are you familiar with the song Spanish Train, from Chris de Burgh’s 1976 album Spanish Train & Other Stories?

Spanish Train

There's a Spanish train that runs between
Guadalquivir 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 bed 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 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 a hundred and five,
And forever put an end to your sins",
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,
Guadalquivir and old Saville,
And at dead of night the whistle blows,
And people fear 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..."

I replied, asking:

Discman,

What brought your attention to the song Spanish Train, from Chris de Burgh’s 1976 album Spanish Train & Other Stories?

His reply is classic Discman!

It’s funny that you should ask.
I have acquired a TON of additional songs in the past year or so, basically doubling my total library.
I’m preparing to add another 40 90-minute discs to my listening rotation, which will make it 280 total 90-minute discs. This will be a total of 420 hours – to listen to my rotation would take you 17.5 days straight through.
Anyway, I’m getting the songs together and looking at each artist in my library. When I came to de Burgh I decided that I should add 1 song since he is not represented in the rotation yet, even though I have 6 of his albums (like I said I’m not really a fan of his).
So the obvious decision would be to add Don’t Pay the Ferryman since it was the only song of his that I know. I’m not really in love with that song so I decided to do a little research first, using allmusicguide.com as my reference of course.
AMG gave his 2nd album 4 stars (as many as any of his other albums) and I’m always partial to an artists earlier albums.
I read the review and saw: “The opening "Spanish Train" is a mysterious yarn about a chess match between God and the Devil, where the victor inherits the soul of a dying train engineer. de Burgh's vocal escalation from serene to flamboyant makes this one of his best songs, as does the marvelous twist at the end of the story.”
This sold me on adding this song…

Now you know why he is known as The Discman!