‘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.
The live recording of this song from the 1975 album Live! was released as a single and is the best-known version; it was later included on several compilation albums, including the greatest hits compilation Legend. It was recorded at the Lyceum Theatre in London on 17 July 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.
Although Bob Marley is widely believed to have written the song (the lyrics are highly personal and mention Georgie making cornmeal porridge, Marley's favorite dish), or at least the melody, songwriting 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 (he specifically mentions the Government Yards of Trench Town, a public housing project). The royalty payments received by Ford provided him with enough money to keep running the soup kitchen.
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’.
Songwriters – Vincent Ford, Bob Marley (uncredited)
Producers – Bob Marley and the Wailers, Steve Smith, Chris Blackwell
SONG LYRICS
[Chorus]No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
[Verse 1]
'Cause, 'cause, 'cause I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown
Oba, observing the hypocrites, yeah
Mingle with the good people we meet, yeah
Good friends we have had, oh good friends we've lost along the way, yeah
In this bright future you can't forget your past
So dry your tears I say, yeah
[Chorus]
No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry, eh, yeah
Little darling don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry
[Verse 2]
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 light, I say
A log wood burning through the night
Then we would cook corn meal 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
[Bridge]
Everything's going to be alright
Everything's going to be alright
Everything's going to be alright
Everything's going to be alright
Everything's going to be alright
Everything's going to be alright
Everything's going to be alright
Everything's going to be alright
So No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry, I say
Oh little, oh little darling, don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry, eh
[Chorus]
No woman, no woman, no woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
One more time I've got to say
Oh little, little darling, please don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry
[Guitar breakdown]