Despite being one of the film’s most oft-quoted lines, the words “Play it again, Sam” are never said in Casablanca. It’s been called “probably the most misquoted line in cinema history,” not least because it’s usually attributed to the wrong character. The 1942 film’s protagonist, conflicted Morocco nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), is often imagined as the one saying the line, even though the closest equivalent — “Play it, Sam” — is actually said by Rick’s endangered ex, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). ——————- ——————- «Play it again Sam…» I learned it by heart from an old black and white screen a line in the dark that still slips through my dreams «Play it again Sam» like a match to the flame one small little phrase and I’m never the same Casablanca held me in its frame silver smoke and heartache spelled my name Play it again Sam play it again I fell in that moment and I still feel the rain Play it again Sam play it again One line, one glance and my heart walked back in That old movie kiss in the half-lit room made every goodbye feel too soon Black and white shadows slow dancing on glass I watched it once now I live in the past Casablanca soft as a wound love in the lamplight pulling me through Play it again Sam play it again I fell in that moment and I still feel the rain Play it again Sam play it again One line, one glance and my heart walked back in I was just a girl with a held-in sigh then that old romance looked straight in my eyes No matter the years or the miles I roam that sentence still sounds like a way home Play it again Sam play it again I fell in that moment and I still feel the rain Play it again Sam play it again Casablanca stays like a spark on my skin «Play it again Sam»
