It’s hard to go anywhere in Paris without seeing her face splashed across souvenir items or hearing her unmistakable voice echoing through busy sidewalk cafes and swanky bistros. Edith Piaf is alive and well in the streets of Paris and in the hearts of French music lovers around the world.

Her heartfelt ballads and poignant life story have rendered her a French cultural icon and musical legend. Whether or not you understand French or appreciate cabaret, you can simply feel her through song. Her voice somehow reaches out and grabs hold of you, leaving you feeling moved, inspired and stirring with emotion.

Dripping beautifully with pain, sorrow and heartache, her music is a testament to a life riddled with tragedy and despair. Abandoned by her parents at a young age and raised in a brothel by prostitutes, she lived in poverty and later began to sing and perform on the streets to support herself. She became pregnant and gave birth to her only child at age 17, who died two years later from meningitis. She endured a string of unhealthy and emotionally abusive relationships, and then lost the love of her life in a fatal plane crash while he was en route to visit her in Paris. Later in life, she struggled with serious alcohol and morphine addictions and ultimately died of liver cancer at age 47.

Throughout all of this impossible hardship and suffering, Edith Piaf somehow managed to record over 200 songs, appear in 10 films, travel the world and become a legacy. She is, in her own way, a true survivor and artist who shows us the strength and absolute resilience of the human spirit.

If you aren’t already a fan of this talented powerhouse of a French woman who stood less than five feet tall, you will definitely fall in love with Edith Piaf when you listen to these songs:

“Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien”
The best song to cure heartache – it will make you feel completely brave.

“La Vie En Rose”
The best song to play on a Saturday morning – it will give your day such a magical sense of possibility.

“Padam Padam”
The best song to play when you need a boost – it will help you clean your kitchen with fierce conviction.

“Hymne à l’amour”
The best song to make you believe in love. Period.