Reeve Jefferson Carney (born April 18, 1983) is an American singer-songwrit… Read Full Bio ↴Reeve Jefferson Carney (born April 18, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and actor most known for originating the role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway and playing Orpheus in the Original Broadway Cast of Hadestown. He also played Dorian Gray in the Showtime series Penny Dreadful and Riff Raff in the Fox musical television film The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let's Do the Time Warp Again.
He is currently on Broadway as Orpheus in the Tony Award-winning musical Hadestown, which won the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Carney started to play guitar at age 12 and three years later he was playing guitar professionally at B.B King's night club in Los Angeles. When living in California, Carney released his first EP Looking Glass in 2004 and promoted it by performing with other musicians, including Jonny Lang. At age 22 he signed with Interscope and formed his jazz-infused rock namesake band, Carney, consisting of Carney (songwriter, vocals and guitar), his brother Zane (guitar), Aiden Moore (bass) and Jon Epcar (drums). The band's vision led the manager David Sonenberg to work with them. Carney released their first EP Nothing Without You in 2008 and their debut album, Mr. Green Vol. 1, in May 2010. In 2009 the band went on tour with The Veronicas in their Revenge Is Sweeter world tour and in 2011 they opened for Arcade Fire and U2 in Moncton, Canada on July 30 on the final date of the U2 360° Tour.
When acting on Broadway, Carney was invited to be part of the album Broadway's Carols for a Cure in 2011 ("St. Nicholas Sky" ft T.V. Carpio) and 2013 ("A Savior is Born"). Carney also recorded the single "Rise Above 1" with Bono and The Edge in 2011, an adapted song from the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Apart from making his own music, Carney also writes songs for soundtracks for films such as The Tempest (2010) and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2 (2012). In October 2016 Carney released his debut solo album, Youth Is Wasted, which he wrote and produced himself. Since then Carney was on tour two times (Reeve Carney Fall Tour 2016 and Youth Is Wasted Tour 2017). Three songs from his album as well as the album itself were nominated in six categories on the 16th annual Independent Music Awards (The IMAs). "Think of You" won "Best Song – Acoustic", "Resurrection" won "Best Song – Rock or Hard Rock" and the album won "Best Album – Adult Contemporary".

Checkmate
Reeve Carney Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It started with a kiss
Alone in the abyss
We used to be strangers
We were just strangers
And every step we'd take
And every move we'd play
Your heart is in danger
In a dance with a stranger

Your scars will send your tears to say it's over
And your heart will bend the rules to suit the soldier
When love has the power play
Checkmate!

We're losers in the game of love, my love
We're losers in the game of love, my love

We'll take the future blind
You'll trust your heart with mine
And I'll try to take it and hope not to break it
But I'll see it in your eyes
I'm not much for long goodbyes
Let me do us a favor
Cause sooner or later

Your scars will send your tears to say it's over
And your heart will bend the rules to suit the soldier

When love has the power play
Checkmate!

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Reeve Carney's song CheckMate deal with the complicated nature of love and relationships. The song starts by describing how the relationship began with a kiss and how they used to be strangers. As they progress, they both express their emotions and take steps towards each other. However, the lyrics describe that this journey is full of danger and a dance with a stranger, which is a metaphor for the fear and uncertainty surrounding love.

Carney then goes on to describe that the game of love is not without its losers. The relationship is not always smooth, and there are few winners in the game of love. Despite the challenges, they continue to move forward and take the future blind. In the chorus, the lyrics implore the listener that when love has the power play, it becomes a game of CheckMate, which is a chess metaphor used to describe the endgame.

Furthermore, Carney talks about the feeling of being rejected by someone that you have committed to. The lyrics mention that sometimes scars will send tears to show that a relationship is over, and the heart will bend the rules to suit the soldier. The song ends on the note that sooner or later, it is better to part ways than to continue playing the game, knowing that you are the loser.

Line by Line Meaning

It started with a kiss
Our love affair began with the touching of our lips

Alone in the abyss
We were together, but it felt like we were isolated in a deep, dark place

We used to be strangers
We were once unfamiliar to each other

We were just strangers
We were only acquaintances at first

And every step we'd take
Every move we made in our journey together

And every move we'd play
Every decision we made in the game of love

Your heart is in danger
Your emotions are at risk of being hurt

In a dance with a stranger
With someone you barely know, you're in a waltz of romance

Your scars will send your tears to say it's over
Your emotional wounds will make you cry and indicate that our relationship must end

And your heart will bend the rules to suit the soldier
You'll change your thinking to please the stronger person in our relationship

When love has the power play
When love is in control of the game