Non, je ne regrette rien

A friend reminded me today of Edith Piaf. I don't imagine younger visitors to this blog will even have heard of the woman, but she was a singer who was popular from the 1940s until about 1960. She was wonderful.

She was a very tiny woman who was known in France as the "Little Sparrow". Edith sang about love and sexual attraction, about great joy as well as pain and loss. She put herself into her songs in a way that transformed them into mini-dramas. Each one is a compelling tale that pulls you in and makes you love her. And the voice! If you are immune to Edith Piaf's charms, you're probably dead.

My blog post title is the name of her most famous song. It means, "No, I regret nothing." She lived her life the way she wanted to -- and the world be damned. That's the message that comes through clearly in her music: I will take life and drink it fully, I will experience it all and no one can stop me. 

So when my friend posted about Edith on her blog today, I headed straight to iTunes and bought a 50-song album for $3.99! I was shocked by the price. Fifty songs! I'm listening to them now and the album is faaaaaaaabulous! Go buy it right away. It's called "50 grande chansons". You won't regret it (unless you're dead).