Back in college, Chess (the British version) was the first musical to which I was exposed as a freshperson (Into the Woods [the Bernadette Peters version] was the second, by the way) ... not because we performed it that year (we delivered On the Town for the spring musical in 1990 [now revived on Broadway]), but because the older theatre kids who were my new friends made me a copy on cassette.
Songs from it popped up throughout my undergrad experience (and have already been featured on this blog on Tuesdays past ... such as walking across campus into the lunch hall "performing" the Argument) ... and, in a fitting coda in many ways to that chapter of my life, a bunch of us actually saw the show for the first time at a performance next to the Reading Pagoda (which, come to think of it, deserves its own post one of these days).
Regardless, one tune spoke to me and my personal situation more than the others ... and that is the tune chosen for today (and referenced yesterday). A quick disclaimer ... this song is not a direct 1:1 match to the fact pattern of my past. But it does capture an artistic sentiment that seems to be on point ... particularly in its opening words:
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 the child that wise
I HAD MY GAME TO PLAY:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO0-TC-SQqU
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