If you kill him I won't tell....

I've been thinking about what particular song I should post here to illustrate the noir/vigilante theme we've been exploring in class. As somewhat of an audiophile, there are probably others I could dig up in my collection they would be more fitting, and I'll continue to look, but the hook of this song - "If you kill him I won't tell" - and its premise seem to fit in rather well with the work of James M. Cain (specifically Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice). The narrator is being interrogated by the police, but refuses to be their "perfect witness" and in fact seems to know quite a lot about the crime that was committed. Of course the lyrics are up for interpretation, but it seems that the neighbor who was killed was guilty of consistently abusing the suspected murderer in some form (whether it was physically or verbally is not clear).

Anyway, some of the lyrics reminded me of the content we saw in Double Indemnity on Friday, especially the grocery store scene, in which Phyllis and Walter are surreptitiously discussing their plans to "off" someone they feel deserves it - "Don't talk to anyone, look forward, mind yourself, continue to walk." Also, the following lines reminded me of something Walter might have said to Barton Keyes: "...if I had to guess I'd say whatever happened probably had to happen anyway / If crime's a definition do your job and write it up." It may be worth noting that the alternate title/subtitle of the song is "Mum's the word."

But hey, I'll leave the validity of these comparisons up to you.

Here is a link to the lyrics.