"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley and the Wailers. The song was recorded in 1974 and released on the studio album Natty Dread. This studio version used a drum machine. The live version from the 1975 album Live! was released as a single and is the best-known version; it was included on the greatest hits compilation Legend, and was recorded at the Lyceum Theatre in London on July 18, 1975 as part of his Natty Dread Tour.
The live version of the song ranked No. 37 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Composition
Lyrics
The title and main refrain, "No Woman, No Cry", means "Woman, don't cry". The lyric is sometimes misunderstood outside Jamaica to mean "if there is no woman, there is no reason to cry". The lyric is rendered "No, woman, nuh cry" in Jamaican patois. The "nuh" is pronounced with a short schwa vowel (a "mumbled" vowel, often represented as "uh" in spelling) and represents a clitic ("weakened") form of "no".
Marley mentions the Government Yards of Trench Town, a public housing project in Kingston where he grew up. The lyrics also mention cornmeal porridge, a popular breakfast in Jamaica.
Writing credit
Although Bob Marley is widely believed to have written the song (the lyrics are highly personalised and mention Georgie making cornmeal porridge, Marley's favourite dish), or at least the melody, a songwriter credit was given to Vincent Ford, a friend of Marley's who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown, the ghetto of Kingston, Jamaica, where Marley grew up. The royalty payments received by Ford ensured his efforts would continue.
1974 studio recording
The song was originally recorded as a studio recording for the 1974 album Natty Dread. Jean Roussel provided the arrangement and Hammond organ parts for this recording, and this uptempo version used a drum machine for the percussion. But the best known recording would be the live recording, which was recorded and released as a single in 1975.
1975 live recording
Released as a single, and on the album Live!, and on later album compilations,
Charts
Certifications
Fugees version
"No Woman, No Cry" was covered by American hip hop group the Fugees in 1995. It was released in November 1996 as the fourth single from their second studio album, The Score. The song was produced by Salaam Remi. The Fugees' version of the track features Wyclef Jean on lead vocals and changes the lyric "in a government yard in Trenchtown" to "in a government yard in Brooklyn". An official remix of the track, featuring Stephen Marley, was included on the group's third release, Bootleg Versions. Wyclef Jean recorded a solo version of the track for his Greatest Hits compilation in 2003.
The Fugees' cover was successful worldwide, peaking atop the New Zealand Singles Chart for two weeks and becoming a top-ten hit in Denmark, Finland, Ireland and the United Kingdom. It did not chart on the US Billboard Hot 100 due to not receiving a physical release in the US, which at the time was a requirement for songs to appear on the Hot 100. It instead charted on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 38.
Track listing
UK CD1
- "No Woman, No Cry" (LP version) - 4:03
- "No Woman, No Cry" (Remix) - 3:55
- "No Woman, No Cry" (Remix instrumental) - 3:55
- "Killing Me Softly" (Live) - 4:25
UK CD2
- "Don't Cry, Dry Your Eyes" - 5:03
- "Don't Cry, Dry Your Eyes" (Instrumental) - 5:03
- "No Woman, No Cry" (LP version) - 4:03
- "A Change Is Gonna Come" (Live) - 6:04
Charts
Certifications
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
- "No Woman, No Cry" Music video on YouTube
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics