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How can anyone not have heard “Non je ne regrette rien” (No, I regret nothing)? It’s a very popular French song, which surprisingly enough can still be heard today since the current generation of singers continues to be captivated by it and keeps releasing new versions. It remains on everybody’s lips, and over the years the song has lost none of its vitality.

Back in 1960, French people discovered this famous and very sad song on their television sets, sung by the famous French singer Edith Piaf. At the time, France was caught up in a dirty war with a former colony, Algeria, which would not come to an end for another two years. That is why the song was dedicated to the French Foreign Legion, six years into a seemingly never-ending conflict with one of the many French colonies that rebelled against France’s expansionism.

"The current generation of singers continues to be captivated by it and keeps releasing new versions."

More than fifty years later, the song’s message hasn’t faded. Even though the message is very simple, it is universal and touches every soul. This tearful song tells us in a beautiful way how the losses that one has to endure can be overcome. It ends with a raw statement, that one should have absolutely no regrets even if it hurts terribly. Could this be one of the most well-known lines from any song, not only in France but worldwide? Probably so.

Though very short and repetitive, the song has a powerful beginning, with a double negative in the first line – “non” and “rien” (“no” and “nothing”) – that sets the tone. The listener is drawn into a gloomy state almost immediately. And where would the song be without the earth-shattering voice of Edith Piaf? Her life has been shown on the big screen recently, in 2007’s La vie en rose, played by the tender and beautiful French actress Marion Cotillard. Piaf agreed to sing the song – which was written by Michel Vaucaire and composed by Charles Dumont in 1956 – and her peculiar voice conveys all the sadness suggested by the lyrics.

"Where would the song be without the earth-shattering voice of Edith Piaf?"

Edith Piaf sang about her pain, her joy, and her sorrow. She was named after a British nurse who helped French soldiers escape from the Germans during World War I, which probably had a huge impact on her, as in every one of her songs there is a certain grief that only she can express. With her throaty voice, she opens the first chorus, which we have all hummed at least once. The letter “r” is hoarse and we feel the sorrow in her suffering voice, which is guttural and captivating yet still flowing. This is probably why one cannot but be charmed while listening to this song. Piaf had a severe childhood, brought up in a Normandy brothel by her indifferent grandmother. She had the art of expressing the pain of love, sorrow, and joy with delightful sincerity. Even if we, as lovers, are disappointed and heart-broken, she lifts us up with her pure positivity.

Lyrics:

Non, rien de rien, non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ca m'est bien egal
Non, rien de rien, non, je ne regrette rien
C'est paye, balaye, oublie, je me fous du passe
Avec mes souvenirs j'ai allume le feu
Mes shagrins, mes plaisirs,
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux
Balaye les amours avec leurs tremolos
Balaye pour toujours
Je reparas a zero
Non, rien de rien, non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait, ni le mal
Tout ca m'est bien egal
Non, rien de rien, non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie, car me joies
Aujourd'hui ca commence avec toi