4. A tale of no regrets
Edith Piaf teaches us courage and resilience.
suggested reading method
To best savour this artwork, please take a moment to eliminate distractions. Consider minimizing all other windows on your computer; putting other devices (phone, tv etc) aside; taking a deep breath, to the full extent of your lung capacity; and focusing solely on the “artwork” section.
Once you’ve processed that to your satisfaction, the rest of the post is optional reading, provided only to share my own impressions and reasons for choosing this piece.
artwork
“Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien” by Edith Piaf, written and composed by Charles Dumont and Michel Vaucaire, and recorded in 1960.
Lyrics as translated by frenchlearner.com:
Non, rien de rien / No, nothing of nothing
Non, je ne regrette rien / No, I don’t regret anything
Ni le bien qu’on m’a fait / Neither the good things people have done to me
Ni le mal; tout ça m’est bien égal! / Nor the bad things, it’s all the same to me!
Non, rien de rien / No, nothing of nothing
Non, je ne regrette rien / No, I don’t regret anything
C’est payé, balayé, oublié / It’s paid for, swept away, forgotten,
Je me fous du passé! / I don’t care about the past!
Avec mes souvenirs / With my memories
J’ai allumé le feu / I lit up the fire
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs / My troubles, my pleasures
Je n’ai plus besoin d’eux! / I don’t need them anymore!
Balayés les amours / The lovers are all swept away
Et tous leurs trémolos / And all of their drama
Balayés pour toujours / Swept away forever
Je repars à zéro / I start again from zero
Non, rien de rien / No, nothing of nothing
Non, je ne regrette rien / No, I don’t regret anything
Ni le bien qu’on m’a fait / Neither the good things people have done to me
Ni le mal; tout ça m’est bien égal! / Nor the bad things, it’s all the same to me!
Non, rien de rien / No, nothing of nothing
Non, je ne regrette rien / No, I don’t regret anything
Car ma vie, car mes joies / Because my life, because my joys
Aujourd’hui, ça commence avec toi! / Today that starts with you!
interpretation
What does it mean to have no regrets?
I don’t interpret this song in a self-righteous, “if you can’t handle me at my worst, you don’t deserve me at my best” kind of way. Rather, the lyrics can empower us to live our fullest lives, strengthened by Piaf’s resounding voice, and the rising strings & brass.
Knowing something of Edith Piaf’s personal story adds much pathos and poignancy to this song, bringing tears to my eyes. Her life was filled with addiction and strife (see “context” below for more on this). Despite all that, the last line of this song proposes a new beginning.
Is the fresh start for Piaf herself, or for a fictitious figure? Perhaps with a new lover, or in the eyes of God? Either way, it’s immensely powerful for the character in the song to leave past traumas behind. No matter what happened to her, or whose fault it might have been, she confidently declares the past has no bearing on how she will find happiness – today and in the future.
The great gift of life is that even if we make mistakes, we make our own choices, to learn from and move on. In this sense I, too, would like to live a full, courageous life with no regrets.
context
Summarized from biography.com: Edith Piaf, nicknamed “The Little Sparrow,” was a popular French singer who lived from 1915 to 1963. Abandoned by her mother, she was raised by various relatives, spending time in a brothel owned by her grandfather, and then in a circus caravan with her father. She sang on the streets from age 15, fell in love, and at 17, had a daughter who passed away from meningitis at the age of 2.
After being discovered, touring Europe, and recording albums, Piaf had two marriages and various tumultuous affairs. Three car crashes led to morphine and alcohol addictions. Piaf passed away three years after recording “Je Ne Regrette Rien,” at the age of 47.
Feel free to share your own thoughts in the comments!
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i knew of this song but didnt realise the context of this in Edith's life, definitely makes the song so much more poignant as you said