No wedding bells for me anymore. I've been happily married to my

The words of Shirley Bassey—“No wedding bells for me anymore. I've been happily married to my profession for years.”—are the anthem of one who has chosen devotion not to a single partner, but to her calling. In these words lies no regret, but triumph: she proclaims that her fulfillment is found not in the traditional bonds of marriage, but in the union of passion and purpose. Her profession has become her companion, her vow, her lifelong covenant.

This utterance speaks to the sacredness of vocation. Just as others bind themselves in marriage, promising loyalty and endurance, so Bassey has bound herself to her art. The stage, the song, and the music have been her altar, and her labor upon it a form of love. She reminds us that there are many ways to live fully, and that the absence of wedding bells does not mean the absence of joy.

History gives us the example of Florence Nightingale, who rejected marriage in favor of her calling to heal the wounded. To her, nursing was not simply work, but a holy cause, and she gave her whole life to it. Like Bassey, she was “married” to her profession, finding in her mission a fulfillment greater than convention. Such lives teach us that commitment to one’s path can be as deep and enduring as any bond of matrimony.

The quote also carries a note of defiance and liberation. Society often insists that happiness must be found in marriage, that without it one’s life is incomplete. Yet Bassey’s words are a song of freedom, declaring that she has chosen her own measure of joy. Her marriage is to music, her children are the songs that outlive her, and her home is the stage where her spirit shines. In this, she reminds us that fulfillment comes not from following tradition blindly, but from embracing the life that calls to the heart.

Let this wisdom be carried forward: honor the marriages of the soul, whether they be to a person, a craft, or a cause. Do not believe that only one path leads to happiness. For some, love is found in a partner’s embrace; for others, in the work that gives them voice, freedom, and purpose. As Shirley Bassey teaches, to be married to one’s profession is no lesser union—it is a covenant of passion and perseverance, and it too can ring with joy eternal.