Slow Catalan, My Queen Takes Back
Open Main 7.Qc2 a6 · sung from White's side
Verse 1
Pawn to d4, pawn to c4 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4
Pawn to g3, bishop to g2 2...e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2
Knight to f3, castles short, for sure 4...Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O
His pawn takes c4, queen to c2 6...dxc4 7.Qc2 a6
He dreams of b5 to keep that gold
Long diagonal, I'm patient and bold
Chorus
Pawn to a4, he can't play b5 8.a4 Bd7
Queen takes c4, bishop to g5 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5
Knight to c3, bishop takes f6 10...Nbd7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6
Long diagonal, that's my trick
Verse 2
Rook to d1, he pushes a5 13.Rfd1 a5
Knight to e5, king takes g2 14.Ne5 Bxg2 15.Kxg2
He plays c6, my knight on e5 15...c6
Half-open c-file, I see it through
Grab c4 too soon, b5 hits the queen
The a-pawn first, that's the routine
Chorus
Pawn to a4, he can't play b5 8.a4 Bd7
Queen takes c4, bishop to g5 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5
Knight to c3, bishop takes f6 10...Nbd7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6
Long diagonal, that's my trick
Bridge
The calmest water I ever know
My a-pawn and d-pawn hold the space
Queens stay on, the squeeze is slow
My knight on e5 sets the pace
Chorus
Pawn to a4, he can't play b5 8.a4 Bd7
Queen takes c4, bishop to g5 9.Qxc4 Bc6 10.Bg5
Knight to c3, bishop takes f6 10...Nbd7 11.Nc3 h6 12.Bxf6 Nxf6
Long diagonal, that's my trick
Outro
Pawn to a4, nice and slow 8.a4 Bd7
Queen takes c4, and off we go 9.Qxc4
The whole song rests on one measured truth of this line: it is among the calmest and most drawish entries in the catalog, with barely a quarter of master games decided and the queens almost always still on at move twenty, so White's music is the patient a4-then-Qxc4 regain, the long diagonal, and a slow squeeze rather than a storm.