Garry Kasparov, Chess Playing Man

I was jogging one day after reading about how the Russian Chessmaster, Gary Kasparov, was playing computer chess against an IBM mainframe computer, and beating it, and this song came to me.

It occurred to me that this was a modern classic "John Henry" struggle; man against machine, and of course I'm always for the human.

When Garry Kasparov was a baby, way back in Ah-zer-bay-john,

he picked up a chessboard and a little white pawn,

said this chess game be the death of me, lord lord, chess game gonna be the death of me.

Well the Chessmaster said to Garry Kasparov,

gonna bring a mainframe 'round,

big IBM mainframe computer, boy, with 32 brains,

gonna whup all your games on down, Lord Lord, gonna whup all your games on down.

Well Garry Kasparov said to the Chessmaster,

a man ain't nothin' but a man,

but before I'd let a mainframe whup me on down,

I'll die with my chessboard in my hand, Lord Lord,

I will die with my chessboard in my hand.

Well Garry Kasparov beat that old mainframe,

yeah he whupped old Deep Blue down,

then he packed up his things, and he headed back home

saying " I'm just chess playin' man, Lord Lord,

Yeah, I'm a chess playin' hewman."

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