I just saw the conversation at the end of the song at LyricsFreak, thought I'd share a cleaned-up copy for others that (like me) haven't been able to make out the words:
M: You're going on that plane to take you where you belong.
W: But no, I have --
M: You have got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what
you have to look forward to if you stay here? Nine chances out of ten, we both end up in a concentration camp and that --
W: You're only saying these things to make me go.
M: I'm saying it 'cause it's true. Inside us, we both know we belong in different...maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.
W: But what about us? What about us? What about us?
The conversation, especially since I've never been able to fully make it out, has always seemed a bit like we're somewhere haunted and hearing snatches of ghosts re-enacting their last parting.
Knowing the words puts a different spin on the song for me. It had always seemed more like it was generally about the life-sapping depression that can come after a really bad breakup. The conversation makes it sound more like it's about the European families/couples that were torn apart by WWII, when children & some women were put onto trains to escape the invading forces. The imagery does very sadly match footage I've seen from the time -- kids pressing their faces to the train windows, homes abandoned by fleeing families, the long lines of prisoners walking towards concentration camps, people collapsing when they couldn't go further, mourning that went on indefinitely for siblings/boyfriends/etc. that died in the camps or were never seen again... It's a much sadder song than it sounds!
@koselara It's the second to last scene in Casablanca.
@koselara It's the second to last scene in Casablanca.
Rick:
Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Rick:
Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Ilsa:
But, Richard, no, I... I...
Ilsa:
But, Richard, no, I... I...
Rick:
Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, Louie?
Captain Renault:
I'm afraid Major Strasser would insist.
Ilsa:
You're saying this only to make me go.
Rick:
I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa:
But what about us?
Rick:
We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa:
When I said I would never leave you.
Rick:
And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.
I just saw the conversation at the end of the song at LyricsFreak, thought I'd share a cleaned-up copy for others that (like me) haven't been able to make out the words:
M: You're going on that plane to take you where you belong. W: But no, I have -- M: You have got to listen to me. Do you have any idea what you have to look forward to if you stay here? Nine chances out of ten, we both end up in a concentration camp and that -- W: You're only saying these things to make me go. M: I'm saying it 'cause it's true. Inside us, we both know we belong in different...maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life. W: But what about us? What about us? What about us?
The conversation, especially since I've never been able to fully make it out, has always seemed a bit like we're somewhere haunted and hearing snatches of ghosts re-enacting their last parting.
Knowing the words puts a different spin on the song for me. It had always seemed more like it was generally about the life-sapping depression that can come after a really bad breakup. The conversation makes it sound more like it's about the European families/couples that were torn apart by WWII, when children & some women were put onto trains to escape the invading forces. The imagery does very sadly match footage I've seen from the time -- kids pressing their faces to the train windows, homes abandoned by fleeing families, the long lines of prisoners walking towards concentration camps, people collapsing when they couldn't go further, mourning that went on indefinitely for siblings/boyfriends/etc. that died in the camps or were never seen again... It's a much sadder song than it sounds!
@koselara It's the second to last scene in Casablanca.
@koselara It's the second to last scene in Casablanca.
Rick: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Rick: Last night we said a great many things. You said I was to do the thinking for both of us. Well, I've done a lot of it since then, and it all adds up to one thing: you're getting on that plane with Victor where you belong.
Ilsa: But, Richard, no, I... I...
Ilsa: But, Richard, no, I... I...
Rick: Now, you've got to listen to me! You have any idea what you'd have to look forward to if you stayed here? Nine chances out of ten, we'd both wind up in a concentration camp. Isn't that true, Louie?
Captain Renault: I'm afraid Major Strasser would insist.
Ilsa: You're saying this only to make me go.
Rick: I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Ilsa: But what about us?
Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.
Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you.
Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.