"No Woman No Cry"
No, woman, no cry.
No, woman, no cry.
No, woman, no cry.
No, woman, no cry.
'Cause—'cause—'cause I remember when a we used to sit
In a government yard in Trenchtown,
Ob—observing the hypocrites.
Yeah!
Mingle with the good people we meet.
Yeah!
Good friends we have. Oh.
Good friends we have lost along the way. Yeah!
In this great future you can't forget your past.
So dry your tears, I say.
Yeah.
No, woman, no cry.
No, woman, no cry. Eh, yeah!
A little darlin', don't shed no tears.
No, woman, no cry. Eh!
Said—said—said I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown. Yeah.
And then Georgie would make the fire lights,
I say, log wood burnin' through the nights.
Yeah!
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge,
I say, of which I'll share with you.
Yeah!
My feet is my only carriage
And so I've got to push on through.
But while I'm gone,
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right, yeah!
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right-a!
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right, yeah!
Everything's gonna be all right!
So, no, woman, no cry.
No, woman, no cry.
I say, oh, little—oh, little darlin', don't shed no tears.
No, woman, no cry. Eh.
No, woman—no, woman—no, woman, no cry.
No, woman, no cry.
One more time I got to say,
Oh, little-little darlin', please don't shed no tears.
No, woman, no cry.
Story of Song
“No woman, don’t cry” is what Bob Marley really means in this classic hit. It’s about Marley’s upbriging, his stories in his hometown (Trench Town), his lyrics are both political and personal, mentioning the “government and the hypocrites which he really hated,” as well as talking to a woman who is crying and telling her not to cry and to forget the past. Marley is reminding the woman of the good memories, and the fact that “everything’s gonna be alright”. The line of the song is “No, Woman, Nuh cry.” Nuh is Jamaican for “don’t,” the meaning of the lyric is No, Woman, don’t cry.
Bob reminisces about the simple pleasures that despite the abject poverty of Trench Town bring back fond memories. Bob also talks about himself being a poor man, he doesn’t have a car or money for a taxi or bus fare (My feet is my only carriage, So I’ve got to push on through…).
Bass player of the Wailers, Aston “Family Man” Barrett, told
NME in 2012: “The song is about the strength in the mama of course, strength in the ladies. And we love a woman with a backbone. Something like a wishbone! They have to be like a she lion! Woman strong, you know, not depending on the man. Of course the man is there to help you, then for every successful man, there is a good woman.”
Read the story behind the song No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley. Join the conversation and submit your own song stories on our site.
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