No Woman, No Cry
Anyone who has heard of Bob Marley knows the song No Woman, No Cry. It is so popular that it has been covered by artists over and over again. The song is about written about violence and abuse against women. The songs name No Woman, Nuh Cry in Jamaican patois, where the “nuh” means “don’t”, literally translates to No Woman, Don’t cry.
A more accurate rendering of the title in Jamaican patois would be “No, woman, nuh cry”. Nuh, which makes a shorter vowel sound for no, is the equivalent of the contraction don’t.[2]
The song was written by Bob Marley, but the copyright credits go to “V. Ford”, which is Vincent Ford, who ran a soup kitchen in Trenchtown where Marley grew up. These song credits kept this soup kitchen open to serve the poor and needy.
So many have covered it but I’ve chosen a few to include here. While you are listening to your favorite version of the song, remember the reason why it was written and how the power of music and love can overcome anything.
No Woman, No Cry by Xavier Rudd (One of my favorite versions)
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That Was A Crazy Game Of Poker/No Woman, No Cry by O.A.R. (Live, 2004)
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No Woman, No Cry by Murder One, featuring Kid Rock
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No Woman, No Cry by The Fugees
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And what would this list be without the original?
No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley & The Wailers (Live, 1975)
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One of my favorite songs ever, and you’ve put up some of the best covers too. Awesome!
@Vinnie Glad I could oblige!
Thanks for posting the article, was certainly a great read!
Love that Fugees cover.
Thanks for linking to me, I’m flattered!
Beautiful Song*******
Love Peter Tosh too*
Obama all the Wayyyyyyy!!
Peace*
I’m a huge Bob Marley fan. I’ve never read that the song was about “violence and abuse” against women. In fact, I think that is incorrect.
Trenchtown was a very rough place and things were very unstable back then. He was just telling the girl he loved not to cry and that everything was going to be alright. But, not because she was beaten.
With that said, I’ve been to Jamaica, and I’ve been to Kingston and things are very rough there. I was told by a few locals that the average girl loses her virginity at a very early age and it’s usually not by choice.
@Chane Actually most people believe it was about abuse and violence against women. I looked it up before posting and that was what was stated. He talks about it’s going to be alright, but not just to one lady, but to a sister, mother, etc.
Domestic abuse against women runs rampant there, so you can imagine what it was like in his day.
Some people also believe it was a political song, others believe it was a song for Rita. Either way, it’s a classic!
Just a small correction- The third cover, which is “by Sublime” is actually a cover done by Murder One. It’s a common misconception that Sublime had done the recording; however, it was done by the rap group Murder One, featuring Kid Rock. This is proven by the lyric, “”…murder one’s in the house tonight and everything is gonna be alright…”
Also, I believe this recording was made after Bradley Nowell had passed away (R.I.P.). I am not requesting you to change the title, not by any means, just felt I should put in my two cents, maybe clear up a misconception or two.
Thanks for the great covers! I love the O.A.R. one, had never heard it before.
@Expendable Thanks for the correction. I can see how it’s easy to mistake the two. I will fix it now. O.A.R. is friggin’ awesome!