Despite the numerous biographies, many facts and events of Édith's life are shrouded in mystery. She was born Édith Giovanna Gassion in Belleville, Paris, France, the high-immigration district later described by Daniel Pennac. Legend has it that she was born on the pavement of Rue de Belleville 72 but according to her birth certificate that was at Hôpital Tenon, the Belleville arrondissement hospital. She was named Édith after the executed British nurse Edith Cavell (Piaf —Parisian jargon for "sparrow"— came from a nickname she would receive twenty years later).
Her mother, Annetta Giovanna Maillard (1898 – 1945), was a partly-Italian 17-year-old girl, native of Livorno, working as a café singer under the pseudonym Line Marsa; from her, Édith took the middle name of Giovanna. Her father, Louis-Alphonse Gassion (1881 – 1944), was a street acrobat with a theatrical past. The little Édith was soon abandoned and left for a short time to her maternal grandmother, Mena (probably a Kabyle). Shortly after, Édith's father brought the child to his mother, who ran a brothel in Normandy, and then joined the French Army (1916). Thus Édith was in contact with the prostitutes and the various attenders of the brothel since her early years, a circumstance which must have had a deep impact on her personality and vision of life.
From the age of three to seven she was blind. As part of Piaf's legend, she allegedly recovered her sight after her grandmother's prostitutes went on a pilgrimage to Saint Thérèse de Lisieux. In 1929 she joined her father in his acrobatic street performances. Then took a room at Grand Hôtel de Clermont (18 rue Veron, Paris 18ème) and separated from him, going her own way as a street singer in Pigalle, Ménilmontant and Paris suburbs (cf. the song "Elle fréquentait la Rue Pigalle"). She was about 16 years of age when she fell in love with a delivery-boy, Louis Dupont, and shortly after had a child, a little girl named Marcelle. Sadly, Marcelle died in infancy of meningitis.
In 1935, Édith was discovered in the Pigalle area of Paris by the nightclub owner Louis Leplée, whose club was frequented by the upper and lower classes alike. He persuaded her to sing despite her extreme nervousness, which, combined with her height of only 4' 8" (142 cm) inspired him to give her the nickname that would stay with her for the rest of her life and become her stage name: La Môme Piaf (The Little Sparrow). Her first record was produced in the same year. Shortly afterwards, Leplée was murdered and Piaf was accused of being an accessory; she was acquitted.
In 1940, Jean Cocteau wrote the successful play Le Bel Indifférent for her to star in. She began to make friends with famous people, such as the actor Maurice Chevalier and the poet Jacques Borgeat. She wrote the lyrics of many of her songs, and collaborated with composers on the tunes.
Her signature song, "La vie en rose" (which was voted a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1998) was written in the middle of the German occupation of Paris in World War II. During this time, she was in great demand and very successful. She befriended many high-ranking Germans and sang for them. It is said that she collaborated with the Nazis, too. After the war, she toured Europe, the United States, and South America, becoming an internationally known figure. Her popularity in the U.S. was such that she appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show eight times. She helped to launch the career of Charles Aznavour, taking him on tour with her in France and the United States.
The great love of Piaf's life, the boxer Marcel Cerdan, died in 1949. Piaf was married twice. Her first husband was Jacques Pills, a singer; they married in 1952 and divorced in 1956. Her second husband, Theophanis Lamboukas (also known as Théo Sarapo), was a hairdresser-turned-singer and actor, and was twenty years younger than Piaf; they married in 1962.
In 1951 she was in a car accident, and thereafter had difficulty breaking a serious morphine habit.
The Paris Olympia is the place where Piaf achieved fame and where, just a few months before her death, she gave one of her most memorable concerts while barely able to stand. In early 1963, Piaf recorded her last song, "L'homme de Berlin".
At the early age of 47, Piaf died of cancer in Plascassier, on the French riviera, on October 10, 1963. Her friend Jean Cocteau, very shocked and afflicted by her death, died a few hours later. Her body was returned to Paris where her death was only announced on October 11, the official date of her death. She was buried in Père Lachaise cemetery, Paris. Although she was forbidden a Mass by the Roman Catholic archbishop of Paris (because of her lifestyle), her funeral procession drew hundreds of thousands of mourners onto the streets of Paris and the ceremony at the cemetery was jammed with more than forty thousand fans. Charles Aznavour recalled that Piaf's funeral procession was the only time, since the end of World War II, that Parisian traffic came to a complete stop.
There is a museum dedicated to Piaf, the Musée Édith Piaf at 5, rue Crespin du Gast, 75011, Paris.
Today she is still remembered and revered as one of the greatest singers France has ever produced. Her life was one of sharp contrasts: the range of her fame as opposed to her tragic personal life, and her fragile small figure on stage with the resounding power of her voice.
Non je ne regrette rien
Édith Piaf Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Avec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux
Balayé les amours
Avec leurs trémolos
Balayé pour toujours
Je repars à zéro
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie
Car mes joies
Aujourd'hui
Ça commence avec toi
The lyrics of Édith Piaf's song "Non je ne regrette rien" express a sense of acceptance, resilience, and renewal. Piaf is saying that she does not regret anything in her life, neither the good nor the bad experiences. She implies that all of those experiences are now insignificant and she has moved on from them. Piaf declares that she does not care about the past and is not burdened by it anymore. The repetition of the phrases "Non, rien de rien" and "Je me fous du passé" emphasize her detachment from what has already happened and her concentration on the present.
The song then shifts in tone as Piaf recalls her memories, but instead of being weighed down by them, she uses them to ignite her passion and rekindle her spark. By lighting a fire with her memories, she captures the energy of her past traumas and pleasantries and turns it into fuel to move forward in her life. She has let go of the hurtful memories and embraced the good ones to propel her towards her new beginning. Additionally, she has erased any past emotions she held towards former lovers with their exaggerated demonstrations of love, where she now feels indifferent towards their memory.
Thus, the song can be interpreted to mean the power of letting go and the significance of living life in the present moment. The lyrics imply that the past should not dictate the present or the future, but instead serve as an ignition to inspire and guide the individual to create their destiny.
Line by Line Meaning
Non, rien de rien
I have no regrets about anything
Non, je ne regrette rien
I am not regretful at all
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait
Neither for the good that was done to me
Ni le mal
Nor for the bad
Tout ça m'est bien égal
None of it matters to me
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 have ignited the fire
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
My sorrows, my pleasures
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux
I no longer need them
Balayé les amours
Swept away the loves
Avec leurs trémolos
With their tremolos (quivering voices)
Balayé pour toujours
Swept away forever
Je repars à zéro
I am starting over
Car ma vie
Because my life
Car mes joies
Because my joys
Aujourd'hui
Today
Ça commence avec toi
It begins with you
Lyrics © SEMI, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Charles Dumont, Michel Vaucaire
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@venus1957
No! No regrets,
No ! I will have no regrets
Neither the kindness received
Nor the sorrows grieved
I have forgotten the past
No! No regrets
No! I will have no regrets
Love was king for a day
swept away
gone astray
To hell with the past
And the memories I had
I no longer desire
Both the good and the bad
I have flung in a fire
Swept away past loves
With the heartaches I've withstood
Swept away for good
Like starting from the unknown
No! No regrets
No! I will have no regrets
Neither the kindness received
Nor sorrows grieved
I've forgotten the past
No! No regrets
No! I will have no regrets
for my life
and my joys
Today
It begins again with you
@somejohndoe3004
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
Nor the good, that was done to me
Neither evil, I don't care at all
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
It is paid, swept away, forgotten
I do not care about the past
With my memories
I started the fire
my sorrows, my pleasures
I do not need them anymore
Sweep the loves
With their tremolos
sweep forever
I go back to zero
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
Nor the good, that was done to me
Neither evil, I don't care at all
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
Because my life, because my joys
Today, it begins with you
@monkey3081
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien, qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal, tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé
Avec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux
Balayer les amours
Avec leurs trémolos
Balayer pour toujours
Je repars à zéro
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien, qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal, tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie, car mes joies
Aujourd'hui, ça commence avec toi
@freya5145
The English lyrics:
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
Nor the good that was done to me
Neither evil, I don't care
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
It is paid, swept away, forgotten
I do not care about the past
With my memories
I started the fire
my sorrows, my pleasures
I do not need them anymore
Sweep away loves
With their tremolos
Sweep forever
I go back to zero
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
Nor the good that was done to me
Neither evil, I don't care
No, nothing at all
No, I do not regret anything
Because my life, because my joys
Today, it begins with you
@unique2dou964
Lyrics
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
C'est payé, balayé, oublié
Je me fous du passé
Avec mes souvenirs
J'ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux
Balayé les amours
Avec leurs trémolos
Balayé pour toujours
Je repars à zéro
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait
Ni le mal
Tout ça m'est bien égal
Non, rien de rien
Non, je ne regrette rien
Car ma vie
Car mes joies
Aujourd'hui
Ça commence avec toi
@user-su1ll9dl1h
Нет! Ни о чем,
Нет, я не жалею ни о чём
Ни о добре, которое мне сделали,
Ни о зле,
Мне все равно.
Нет! Ни о чем!
Нет, я не жалею ни о чем
Все оплачено, выметено, забыто,
Мне наплевать на прошлое
Из моих воспоминаний
Я разожгу костёр.
Мои печали, мои удовольствия
Мне больше не нужны…
Выметены прошлые любовные истории
С их тревогами.
Выметены навсегда,
Я начинаю с нуля.
Нет! Ни о чем,
Нет, я не жалею ни о чём
Ни о добре, которое мне сделали,
Ни о зле, мне все равно
Нет! Ни о чем,
Нет, я не жалею ни о чём!
Потому что моя жизнь и мои радости
Сегодня начинаются с тобой.
@caroleborsu
My father was born in Marseille in 1929. He had the privilege of seeing Edith Piaf perform in Paris in 1949. He mentioned how tiny she was and that she had a simple black dress on. Nothing like today with all the bells and whistles. Her voice penetrated everything and went straight to your heart. When I listen to her it reminds me of my father and what it must have been like to see her live. It makes me happy to know that so many people have discovered her through TV shows or from word or mouth. C'est merveilleux!
@brigittebeltran6701
There is, indeed, a video here on You Tube with her singing live in a little black dress...try to find it! 🤗👍❤
@minkorrh
That's because Edith had a voice that didn't need any modern embellishment like autotune or melodyne
@rajenmurugan3229
she is priceless and angelic
@hopelove6658
Jeff Buckley brought me here. She was a great inspiration for him!!! ♡
@Happyladi2024
Thanks)
@maximussaktish
Imagine you finally achieve your dream and this song starts playing out of no where
@nikhilchouhan1802
And you start to cry
"Huh..? It was all a dream!"
@nikhilchouhan1802
@Archip3g 3 layers of dreams down the brain
@ghost_9927
You’re waiting for a train. A train that will take you far away. You know where you hope the train will take you, but you can’t know for sure. Yet it doesn’t matter. Now tell me why?