I have found that songs are a fabulous tool for learning to speak French, especially for fluency and intonation. Every song is a miniature French lesson. Repeated listening and singing along or just mouthing the words to music you like is a fun way of absorbing French phrases and learning a bit of French culture. Catchy music, short lines, lots of repetition, riming words and simple rhythms all make for easy memorization.
In today’s post I want make a French lesson out of Non, je ne regrette rien by Édith Piaf (1915 – 1963), France’s most iconic female singer. This song and another Edith Piaf classic, La vie en rose, are among the most famous French songs in the world.
Here are a link to a recording by Piaf, the lyrics and my technical commentary on the language. Since the lyrics are so simple, I didn’t think a translation was necessary. Sing along and improve your French!
Non ! Rien de rien (1)
Non ! Je ne regrette rien (2)
Ni le bien qu´on m´a fait (3)
Ni le mal, tout ça m´est bien égal ! (4)
Non ! Rien de rien
Non ! Je ne regrette rien
C´est payé, balayé, oublié (5)
Je me fous du passé ! (6)
Avec mes souvenirs
J´ai allumé le feu
Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs
Je n´ai plus besoin d´eux !(7)
Balayées les amours (8)
Avec leurs trémolos
Balayés pour toujours (9)
Je repars à zéro (10)
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 (11)
Aujourd´hui, ça commence avec toi ! (12)
A French lesson in « Non, je ne regrette rien »
A note on the pronunciation of r
Pay attention to Piaf’s pronunciation of the many r’s that appear in the song. Notice how she rolls them, especially at the beginning of words. This was standard pronunciation of r in France at the time. In modern French, the r is pronounced at the back of the mouth with a sort of rasping sound that is called « le r grasséyé ».
Do not imitate Piaf’s r sound. This sound is associated with older speakers and some regional varieties of French.
(1) The expression « Rien de rien » is a great way of saying « nothing at all ». Another way would have been : « rien du tout ». Notice that the « en » here is pronounced like the sound in « bien » and not the « en » sound in « enfant ».
(2) If you listen carefully, you will hear Piaf pronounce very lightly the final e in –ette that really emphasizes the « t » sound and then leads into « rien ». The sound of « regrette » is more like three syllables and thus different from the English « regret ». I should also point out that in modern spoken French the « ne » would have most likely disappeared.
(3) Notice how French renders « neither…nor » with « ni…ni… ». The « on » is not the usual ‘we’ but more an indefinite pronoun ‘they’ or ‘people’. The line here could be translated by : All the good things that were done for me or All the good that people did for me.
(4) In « tout ça » remember that the final « t » is not pronounced. Here we also have our first encounter with the power pronoun « ça ». In « m’est bien égal », note how « bien » changes pronunciation because of the liaison with « égal ». The « m ‘est » is of course « me + est ». This construction with « être égal » is a great way of saying, « It doesn’t matter » or ‘I don’t care’.
(5) This « c’est » construction is of course extremely common. Note that the « a » in payé and the second « a » « balayé » are pronounced « é » as in « éyé ».
(6) « Je me fous » is from the rather slangy verb « se foutre de » meaning ‘I don’t give a damn’.
(7) Notice how the « plus » is pronounced without the « s » because here « plus » means « no longer ». In « d’eux » made up of « de + eux » the reference is to « chagrins » et « plaisirs » .
(8) The position of the past participle « balayées » used as an adjective in front of « amours » is a bit unusual. Normally, an adjective goes after the noun as in « les amours balayées ». At the beginning of a sentence, the past participle can go in front of the noun. This is often found in very formal French. In this case, putting the past participle in front is a somewhat elegant way of saying « Les amours sont balayées ».
Notice the spelling here of « balayées ». This is the result of one of the oddest quirks of the French language. When singular, the word « amour », like « orgue » and « délice » is masculine but feminine when plural. This is why « balayées » has the extra « -es » at the end.
To make things more complicated, there are certain past participle adjectives such as vu, excepté and passé that do not agree with the noun when put in front of the noun.
(9) This « balayés » has only an « s » at the end because it agrees with the plural masculine « trémolos ».
(10) « Partir à zéro » is a great way of saying « start all over again » or « start from scratch »
(11) « Car » is a synonym of « parce que » ‘because’.
(12) Another example of the awesome pronoun « ça » referring to « ma vie, mes joies ».
Related Posts
1.Spoken French – How To Pronounce “Plus”
2. Spoken French – How To Use “Rien”
3. How To Use The Awesome French Pronoun “ça”
Stanley Aléong is a polyglot, author, musician, language coach in French, English and Spanish, language workshop facilitator and organizer of French-English conversation meetups in Montreal, Canada. He likes to share his passion for languages and believes that anybody can learn to speak a foreign language well with the right methods and tools. He has also invented a cool visual learning tool called the Essential French Wall Chart Calendar. Reach him at info@fluentfrenchnow.com.