Sung by the great madame herself – Edith Piaf – Non, je ne regrette rien (No, I regret nothing) is… vocally and lyrically a knockout.
At not even 5′, Edith was nicknamed “La Môme Piaf” (the little sparrow) – which morphed into her famous moniker.
Here’s one angry, tragic and passionate woman – with good reason! Abandoned by her mother and father, brought up in a brothel til the age of six, then re-claimed to work as a busker alongside her father travelling around France… her talent was obvious. She lost her only child to meningitis. Her singing career was dogged by those that wanted to take advantage of her.
Edith kinda lived fast and died young before it was ever fashionable to do so…
An English translation of Non, je ne regrette rien is as follows:
No, nothing at all
No, I regret nothing
Neither the good things
Nor the bad, they are the same to me
No, nothing at all
No, I regret nothing
It’s been paid for
Swept away, forgotten
I don’t give a damn about the past
My memories
I have burnt my memories
My sorrows, my pleasures
I don’t need them anymore
Swept away the love affairs
And all their tremblings
Swept away forever
I start anew
No, nothing at all
No, I regret nothing at all
Neither the good
Nor the bad, they are all the same to me
No, nothing at all
No, I regret nothing at all
For my life, for my joys
Today
They start with you
Now, this could be interpreted as a love song to another – but I like it better when thinking of it sung to oneself…
There’s some very kinda yogic stuff in there – expressing no preference for the good or the bad (its all the same), the past not being related to this moment (just a discontinuous moment-to-moment existence that appears to be linear)…
Its all about right here, right now. A transformation. A change sweeping through. A revelation. New beginnings.
How I wish I could take these words and make them my reality right now!
To have no regrets at all, not one (I’m working on it)… to see the world through fresh eyes with a heart that’s known no sorrow. Or… that none of it matters any longer. No regrets…
Now that’s something worth both living and dying for.
Oh, and happy birthday, Madame Sparrow… you woulda been 93 today (same age as my grandma), if you’d stuck around…
And now, a public service announcement:
Those who know stories
Within stories
Listen up!
Whispers thusly concealed
Must remain
Shine no light on them…
~Svasti
