We'll always have Paris

In an attempt to ward of the fantasmatic effects of song, Rick prohibits Sam from playing "As Time Goes By" in his café in Casablanca. But this prohibition is precisely what allows it to be heard. All pop songs, to be heard, must be somewhat haunted. It is what turns pure sonic information into presence. We do not really hear (or at least remember) the other popular songs that are continuously played throughout Casablanca. The fear and fascination surrounding a haunted song (from "don't begin the beguine!" to "play it, Sam"), molds noise into an embodiment. The only other song that one remembers from Casablanca is the La Marseillaise which undergoes a similar drama of prohibition. One anthem emerges as a challenge to Fascist repression, the other a challenge to Rick's retention and almost unflappable psychological make-up. "Here's looking at you kid," then, is both toast, and deliverance. The return of the lost face banishes the ghost of the song that once was an elegy to its loss.