No Woman, No Cry


"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 17, 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.

Writing credit

Although Bob Marley clearly wrote the song, 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

On Natty Dread, Jean Roussel provided the arrangement and Hammond organ parts for this recording.

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Chart Peak
position
UK Singles Chart8

Certifications

Lyrics

The title and main refrain, "No Woman, No Cry" is rendered "No, woman, nuh cry" in Jamaican patois. The "nuh" is pronounced with a short schwa vowel and represents a clitic form of "no". It is the equivalent to the contraction "don't". The song is often misunderstood by those outside of Jamaica to be about having guarded feelings towards women.

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
  1. "No Woman, No Cry" - 4:03
  2. "No Woman, No Cry" - 3:55
  3. "No Woman, No Cry" - 3:55
  4. "Killing Me Softly" - 4:25
UK CD2
  1. "Don't Cry, Dry Your Eyes" - 5:03
  2. "Don't Cry, Dry Your Eyes" - 5:03
  3. "No Woman, No Cry" - 4:03
  4. "A Change Is Gonna Come" - 6:04

    Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other cover versions

The song has been covered by numerous other artists including:
Art Ensemble Of Chicago

With other lyrics/in other languages