THE SHODAN

Tune:  The Gambler; (Kenny Rogers).
Words: Bill Taylor.

In a late practise game I had a group goin' nowhere,
I met up with a shodan, we were both too tired to sleep,
So we took turns at starin' at the goban on the table
Till boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said "Son I make my live groups out of readin' people's moyos,
And knowin' what the status was by the way they made their eyes,
And if you don't mind me sayin' - I can see you're out of aji,
If you're gonna play the game right, let me give you some advice."

You got to know when to chase 'em,    When to erase 'em,
Know when to hack away                And know when to run;
You never count your moyo             When you're sittin' at the goban,
There'll be time enough for countin'  When the dame's done.

"Now every player knows this, that the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' just which groups to keep and which to give the knife,
Coz every group's a flyer, and every group's a dier,
And the most you can hope for is to get a seki life."

And when he'd finished talkin' he turned back to the goban,
He checked out a tesuji, and he passed out with the booze,
And somewhere in his dreamin' the shodan broke the komi,
And in his final words I found a proverb I could use.

You got to know when to chase 'em,    When to erase 'em,
Know when to hack away                And know when to run;
You never count your moyo             When you're sittin' at the goban,
There'll be time enough for countin'  When the dame's done.