A popular snooker legend is receiving a testimonial this year, and I have penned this tribute to celebrate him... 

 

There's Only One Jimmy White!

by Alain English

 

In the beginning

There was a young lad from Tooting

Always fighting and scrapping

Never at school

Because he was always skiving

Till one day by chance

He came upon Zan's

A snooker hall

And Jimmy found his calling

Falling in love with the place

The click of the balls

The rub of the baize

Picking up a cue

He found something he could do

Bloody hell!

This lad could play well

Making lots of money

Hustling up and down the country

Showing his potential

This snooker player

Was something very special

Lighting quick and able

To blow his rivals off the table

Driving his fans and his friends

And himself round the bend

Burning the candle at both ends

Winning sometimes

But too often losing

Through drinking and gambling

At home he was often nowhere to be seen

Because he was chasing pink zebras

On Richmond Green

Yet given the crazy lifestyle he had

It's incredible he managed to do what he did

He may not have been the most consistent winner

But he does not deserve to be considered a failure

He never won the World Championship

His genius deserved

He let it slip away

The balls just didn't run his way

We've all been there sometimes

Let the moment pass us by

Then slipped into despair

Someone always has to lose

And sometimes life ain't fair

But Jimmy White is more

Than just another snooker player

The man has style

He has flair, he has heart

Making snooker look like art

His glory becomes our glory

When he is beaten so are we

It's sad to see

And yet we enjoy it

That's part of the drama

No other player

Turns snooker into theatre

We prefer to see Jimmy lose

Than someone else win

Because we identify with him

He is one of us

An everyman

Enduring every setback

And disappointing blow

To pick himself up and have another go

With the people he has found a sense of belonging

He expresses that inarticulate longing

Of the vulnerable child

Or the dying old man

For one last chance of happiness

Refusing the safety shot

For the impossible pot

The impossible dream

He's a tragic hero on an impossible quest

But he's still a hero nevertheless

Blazing the baize

With his unpredictable ways

It's a truly glorious sight

For there are many snooker players

There's only one Jimmy White!