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The meaning and origin of the expression: Play it again Sam

Play it again Sam

What's the origin of the phrase 'Play it again Sam'?

Bogart's supposed line from Casablanca. This is well-known as one of the most widely misquoted lines from films. The actual line in the film is 'Play it, Sam'. Something approaching 'Play it again, Sam' is first said in the film by Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) in an exchange with the piano player 'Sam' (Dooley Wilson):

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake.
Sam: I don't know what you mean, Miss Ilsa.
Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."
Sam: Oh, I can't remember it, Miss Ilsa. I'm a little rusty on it.
Ilsa: I'll hum it for you. Da-dy-da-dy-da-dum, da-dy-da-dee-da-dum...
Ilsa: Sing it, Sam.

Play it again, SamThe line is usually associated with Humphrey Bogart and later in the film his character Rick Blaine has a similar exchange, although his line is simply 'Play it':

Rick: You know what I want to hear.
Sam: No, I don't.
Rick: You played it for her, you can play it for me!
Sam: Well, I don't think I can remember...
Rick: If she can stand it, I can! Play it!

Gary Martin - the author of the phrases.org.uk website.

By Gary Martin

Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

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