Monsieur Piaf

No, I don’t regret anything. Not really.

Not a thing. Mind you, perhaps

Edith might have been happier

had I not forced her to sing.

And maybe three and a half was too young

to be wheeled round the streets on a barrow.

But her voice was that of a nightingale

though her legs were those of a sparrow.

Regrets? Non! Except perhaps

setting fire to the Moulin Rouge

after battering a money-lender

and throwing his body into the Seine.

Apart from that, I have no regrets.

Rien de tout. The bank robbery?

Possibly, and deserting her mother.

But I was an acrobat, I needed space.

Had I stayed she might have provided

for her dad in his old age. Let me share

her limelight. But no, I have no regrets.

Non, je ne regrette rien.