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Non, je ne regrette rien

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Wikipedia article




"'Non, je ne regrette rien'" (, meaning "No, I do not regret anything") is a French song composed in 1956 by Charles Dumont, with lyrics by Michel Vaucaire. dith Piaf's 1960 recording spent seven weeks atop the French Singles & Airplay Reviews chart.[http://www.infodisc.fr/Number1_60.php Archives on "InfoDisc" site]. Retrieved 11 March 2013.

Background



The song's composer, Charles Dumont, states in the book 'dith Piaf, Opinions publiques', by Bernard Marchois (TF1 Editions 1995), that Michel Vaucaire's original title was "Non, je ne trouverai rien" (No, I will not find anything) and that the song was meant for the French singer Rosalie Dubois. However, thinking of Piaf, he changed the title to "Non, je ne regrette rien" (No, I Regret Nothing).

According to journalist Jean Noli, in his book 'dith' (ditions Stock 1973), when Dumont and Vaucaire visited Piaf's home at Boulevard Lannes in Paris, on 24 October 1960, she received them in a very impolite and unfriendly manner. Dumont had tried to offer Piaf his compositions on several occasions, but she disliked them and had refused them. On that day she was furious that her housekeeper Danielle had arranged a meeting with the two men without informing her, so she let them wait an hour in her living room before she appeared. She told them she would listen to one song only. Dumont sang 'Non, je ne regrette rien', to which Piaf reacted extremely positively, saying "This is the song I have been waiting for. It will be my biggest success! I want it for my coming performance at L'Olympia!"

Piaf dedicated her recording of the song to the Foreign Legion.Cooke, James J. (1990). "Alexander Harrison, 'Challenging de Gaulle: The O.A.S. and the Counterrevolution in Algeria, 19541962'". 'The International Journal of African Historical Studies'. Boston: Boston University African Studies Center. At the time of the recording, France was engaged in a military conflict, the Algerian War (19541962), and the 1st REP (1st Foreign Parachute Regiment)which backed the failed 1961 putsch against president Charles de Gaulle and the civilian leadership of Algeriaadopted the song when their resistance was broken. The leadership of the Regiment was arrested and tried but the non-commissioned officers, corporals and Legionnaires were assigned to other Foreign Legion formations. They left the barracks singing the song, which has now become part of the Foreign Legion heritage and is sung when they are on parade.

Other recordings



The song has been recorded by other performers, including:

* Piaf herself recorded an English version, titled 'No Regrets'.

* Shirley Bassey in 1965, (reaching No. 39 on the UK charts) and on the album 'Love Songs'.

* Karen Akers on her 1981 album "Presenting Karen Akers".

* German singer Martinique released a Disco/Synth-Pop version "No Regrets (Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien)" in 1984

* Bad Boys Blue in 1989, on album "The Fifth" recorded an English version titled 'No Regrets'.

* The rock band Half Man Half Biscuit recorded a 1991 English version titled 'No Regrets'.

* La Toya Jackson in her 1992 Moulin Rouge revue 'Formidable'.

* Emmylou Harris contributed an English version to the 1994 multi-artist "Tribute to Edith Piaf" album.

* Elaine Paige on 1994 album 'Piaf', released to coincide with her portrayal of the lead character in the play of the same name.

* Brazilian singer Cssia Eller in 2001 'Acstico MTV' album.

* Vicky Leandros on her 2010 album "Zeitlos" (Timeless) sung in German with the title "Nein, ich bereue nichts" .

* Cajun band Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys on their 2011 album 'Grand Isle'.

* Frances McDormand as Captain DuBois sings the song in 'Madagascar 3: Europes Most Wanted.'

* Raquel Bitton sang "No Regrets" in the film "Piaf..Her story..Her songs" and CD "Raquel Bitton sings Edith Piaf"

Other languages

* "Nej, jag ngrar ingenting" (Swedish) by Anita Lindblom in 1961

* "Ne oplakujem" (Croatian) by Tereza Kesovija in 1962

* "Ne oplakujem" (Croatian) by Ana tefok in 1964

* "Ne, ne alim ni za im" (Serbian) by Lola Novakovi in 1964

* "Nej, jag ngrar ingenting" (Swedish) by Gun Sjberg in 1966

* "Nelituj" (Czech) by Svtlana Nlepkov in 2005

* "Ne, ni mi al" (Slovenian) by Ale Polajnar in 2014

* "No dico no" (Italian) by Dalida

* "No me puedo quejar" (Spanish) by Dalida

* "Nah de Nah" (Spanish) by Javiera Mena

* "Nem, nem bnok semmit sem" (Hungarian) by Vri va

* Elvina Makarian (Armenian Legendary Jazz Singer).

In popular culture



* In the United Kingdom, the song was at one time associated with the former Conservative politician Norman Lamont, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, who quoted the song's title to sum up his political career.

* The song was adopted as "a personal anthem" by the former Dutch colonial soldier Johan Cornelis Princen (better known as Poncke Princen).

* The song is used in many movies, including 'Bull Durham' (1988); Doris Drrie's film ' (1994); 'Babe: Pig in the City' (1998); Bernardo Bertolucci's film 'The Dreamers' (2003), the Coen Brothers' film 'Intolerable Cruelty', the 2005 film 'Monamour', the 2006 film 'Piaf Her story Her songs', the French criminal biopic 'Mesrine' (2008), 'Valiant' (2005), a British animated film about World War II; 'Inception' (2010), where the song is connected with hypnic jerk; and 'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted' (2012).

* The song features prominently in the biographic movie 'La Vie en Rose', which tells the story of dith Piaf (portrayed by French actress Marion Cotillard)

* A Spanish version of the song performed by Javiera Mena, plays during the end credits of the 2012 Chilean film 'Young and Wild'.

* The song has been featured in many episodes of television and streaming programs, including episode 14 of season 11 of Supernatural, season 4 episode 12 of The Good Wife, season 3 episode 10 of Druck, season 2 episode 6 of Why Women Kill, season 3 episode 6 of In the Dark, the conclusion of episode 10 of the first season of the series Ted Lasso, the SBS Korean Drama The Penthouse, season 2 episode 9 of the series Preacher, and season 2 episodes 1 and 10 of the series Star Trek: Picard.

* This song was added to The Boring Company website when 50,000 "boring hats" were sold.

* Lyrics from this song are featured in Rammstein's "Frhling in Paris" from 'Liebe ist fr alle da' (2009).

* dith Piaf's recording has been used in numerous television commercials, notably for Specsavers and Zoflora.

Charts



References



Category:1956 songs

Category:French songs

Category:French Foreign Legion

Category:dith Piaf songs

Category:Shirley Bassey songs

Category:Anita Lindblom songs

Category:1950s ballads

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