Guilty

The Thirties were a cosmopolitan time (pre-war, especially). And music was shared internationally then, as now. I think of a song like Guilty, lyrics written in 1931 by Gus Kahn, an American, sung that same year by Al Bowlly, a Brit, and a big hit in France before and after the war - so much so that it was part of the French musical nostalgic landscape when the movie Amélie was made in 2001 (scored by Yann Tiersen): the 70-year-old recording made the soundtrack.

Gets me all sentimental when I hear it. :)



Is it a sin? Is it a crime?
Loving you dear like I do.
If it's a crime then I'm guilty.
Guilty of loving you.

Maybe I'm wrong dreaming of you
Dreaming the lonely night through
If it's a crime then I'm guilty
Guilty of dreaming of you

What can I do? What can I say
After I've taken the blame?
You say you're through, you'll go your way.
But I'll always feel just the same.

Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong
Loving you dear like I do.
If it's a crime, then I'm guilty.
Guilty of loving you.

(Instrumental Interlude)

What can I do? And what can I say
After I've taken the blame?
You say you're through, you'll go your way.
But I'll always feel just the same.

Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong
Loving you dear like I do.
If it's a crime, then I'm guilty.
Guilty of loving you.