songs about chess (or with metaphors from chess)

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i can only think of two off the top of my head -- "i've seen all good people" by yes and the chess soundtrack of course. surely, there are more!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 6 November 2004 17:15 (twenty-one years ago)

Wu-Tang: Chessboxin'

― Hurting (Hurting), Saturday, 6 November 2004 17:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Bob Dylan "Only a Pawn in Their Game"

― dave q, Saturday, 6 November 2004 17:22 (twenty-one years ago)

"got you all in check (woo-haw") by busta rhymes

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Saturday, 6 November 2004 17:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Queen -- Killer Queen
(what do you mean, it's not about chess?)

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Saturday, 6 November 2004 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.starsend.org/graphics/e2e4.jpg

― Spinning Down Alone You Spin Alive (ex machina), Saturday, 6 November 2004 17:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Nerdiest album cover EVER!

― Hurting (Hurting), Saturday, 6 November 2004 17:38 (twenty-one years ago)

chessy music

― peepee (peepee), Saturday, 6 November 2004 18:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Annihilator - Knight Jumps Queen

contains the hilarious lyric:
Knight jumps queen, if you know what I mean

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 6 November 2004 18:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Steely Dan - "Dirty Work"

"Like a castle in his corner in a medieval game,
I foresee terrible trouble, and I stay here just the same"

― Cheek0 (Cheek0), Saturday, 6 November 2004 18:42 (twenty-one years ago)

Van Der Graff Generator - Pawn Hearts
Peter Hamill - Fool's Mate

(This may just be "album titles about chess" though.)

― nickn (nickn), Saturday, 6 November 2004 18:58 (twenty-one years ago)

'White Rabbit' by Jefferson Airplane, though in truth they are allusions to Carrol's chess metaphors...

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Saturday, 6 November 2004 19:02 (twenty-one years ago)

Prefab Sprout - Cue Fanfare

"When Bobby Fischer's plane - plane plane - touches the ground,
he'll take those Russian boys and play them out of town,
playing for blood, like grandmasters should."

― Kramnik, Saturday, 6 November 2004 19:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Servotron - Deep Blue Congratulations

"Designed by IBM
The ultimate chess master
Solitary objective to win

Can a man out think a machine?
Inconceivable!
Is a machine superior to man?
Undeniable!

The last intellectual frontier
Humanity must defend
The oldest recorded game
Gary feels the pressure to win

Can a man...

Your move!

Mental frustration
Demanding printouts
Human limitations
Your move
The characteristics of a man
Beaten by its own creation

The results are in
The computer has won
Mr Kasparov
Let me suggest you try playing checkers"

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 6 November 2004 19:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Right said fred: "You're my mate"

― mark grout (mark grout), Saturday, 6 November 2004 19:38 (twenty-one years ago)

The Smugglers - Buudy Holly Convention

"...are you on the way to the chess club today?"

― jel -- (jel), Saturday, 6 November 2004 19:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Black Sabbath - "War Pigs"

Treating people just like pawns in chess

― Ben Dot (1977), Saturday, 6 November 2004 20:37 (twenty-one years ago)

Jefferson Starship - "Devil's Den," from the album Dragon Fly

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Sunday, 7 November 2004 08:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Organized Konfusion: ‘The Extinction Agenda’

― Orange, Sunday, 7 November 2004 13:01 (twenty-one years ago)

gza liquids swords lp - some lyrical references, i'm sure, and pictures on the sleeve

― Robin Goad (rgoad), Sunday, 7 November 2004 17:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Rivers Cuomo has an old demo I've heard called "Chess"

lyrics: "Chess is such a difficult game
There's so many pieces
So many squares where you can go
So few promises

Never you mind all the others
Anticipating your next move
I know it's hard cause you've got a lot to do

Street signs and traffic lights
Ever confusing me too
Stop, left, go, right, no u-turn
Where's the goddamn exit?

Never you mind all the others
Anticipating your next move
I know it's hard cause you've got a lot to do

Sex and drugs and rock and roll
Pieces lie right before you
This puzzle cant be done wrong
Conquer 'em all while you can

Never you mind all the others
Anticipating your next move
Never you mind all the others
Never you mind what they do

Don't let them get you down
'Cause if they do
You'll be trapped forever
Under their shoe

Here is a paintbrush now go
I know its hard cause you've got a lot to do"

― Matt Boch (Matt Boch), Sunday, 7 November 2004 19:25 (twenty-one years ago)

Future Bible Heroes "Losing Your Affection"

I would rather be king when the rooks take wing
Than be losing your affection

― From a Land of Grass Without Mirrors (AaronHz), Sunday, 7 November 2004 21:57 (twenty-one years ago)

gza liquids swords lp - some lyrical references, i'm sure, and pictures on the sleeve

I was just thinking whether this would qualify; there are the sleeve pictures, obviously, but I'm not sure if the lyrics actually have any references to chess. Does anyone remember?

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 7 November 2004 22:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Bjorn and Benny from ABBA collaborated on a musical called Chess in the mid 80s. Uh, your move.

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Sunday, 7 November 2004 22:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Scott Walker - The Seventh Seal

― bulbs (bulbs), Sunday, 7 November 2004 22:09 (twenty-one years ago)

scott walker - the seventh seal

― mattp, Sunday, 7 November 2004 22:12 (twenty-one years ago)

woah xpost

― mattp, Sunday, 7 November 2004 22:12 (twenty-one years ago)

ha!

― bulbs (bulbs), Sunday, 7 November 2004 22:13 (twenty-one years ago)

My Life Story - Checkmate, which features my favourite misheard lyric of all time:

"Now the porn dyke's queen."

― Atnevon (Atnevon), Monday, 8 November 2004 02:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Murray Head - "One Night in Bangkok"

― Bruce S. Urquhart (BanjoMania), Monday, 8 November 2004 02:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Uchihasi Kazuhisa & Hans Reichel "Pawn Takes Stewardess"

― m0stly clean (m0stly clean), Monday, 8 November 2004 04:01 (twenty-one years ago)

jonny cohen, 'chessmaster from hell'

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Monday, 8 November 2004 07:41 (twenty-one years ago)

MX-80 Sound, "Theme From 'Checkmate'"

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Monday, 8 November 2004 08:14 (twenty-one years ago)

To further that Bob Dylan reference, I think that on the back of one of his album's his psychedelic 'liner notes' or whatever you'd call them are all about chess, the 'white queen' and all this and that. So I think you could probably make some argument about the 'chess theme' in Bob Dylan's work. If you wanted to. Which I suspect that you do.

― xx, Monday, 8 November 2004 08:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah, GZA references chess in ‘Gold’: ‘He got swung on, his lungs was torn / The kingpin just castled with his rook and lost a pawn’

― Orange, Monday, 8 November 2004 10:22 (twenty-one years ago)

there's a new porno's song that says something about "how well you can play when a pawn takes the queen"..

― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Monday, 8 November 2004 10:34 (twenty-one years ago)

or is it "how well you can play when a porn dyke's the queen"?...

― m0stly clean (m0stly clean), Monday, 8 November 2004 14:47 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes -- I've Seen All Good People (sic)

― lovebug starski (lovebug starski), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

SRC (late '60s detroit band) had one, but i forget its name

― chuck, Tuesday, 9 November 2004 00:44 (twenty-one years ago)

"Chessboards" by Killing Joke

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 01:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Suzanne Vega's "Knight Moves"

Watch while the queen
In one false move
Turns herself into a pawn

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 9 November 2004 01:06 (twenty-one years ago)

twelve years pass...

Aerosmith's "Draw the Line" has three mentions of "checkmate" , two of which are followed by "honey"

― calstars, Monday, 16 October 2017 16:37 (eight years ago)

Uh, 'Bad Losers on Yahoo! Chess' by Half Man Half Biscuit.

― more Allegro-like (Turrican), Monday, 16 October 2017 17:10 (eight years ago)

That song is CLASSIC.

"Good game sir. Do you want another bout?"
But Dennis ain't replied 'cause he's just signed out.

― Mr. Snrub, Monday, 16 October 2017 23:04 (eight years ago)

Pink Floyd - "Country Song"

― Mr. Snrub, Monday, 16 October 2017 23:04 (eight years ago)

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