Album: Natty Dread (1975)

Charted: 8

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• No, woman, no cry
  No, woman, no cry
  No, woman, no cry
  No, woman, no cry
  
  Seh, seh, seh I remember when we used to sit
  In the government yard in Trenchtown
  Oba observing the 'ypocrites
  As they would mingle with the good people we meet
  Good friends we have, oh, good friends we've lost
  Along the way
  In this great future, you can't forget your past
  So dry your tears, I seh
  
  No, woman, no cry
  No, woman, no cry
  'Ere, little darlin', don't shed no tears
  No, woman, no cry
  
  Said, said, said, I remember when we used to sit
  In the government yard in Trenchtown
  And then Georgie would make the fire lights
  As it was log wood burnin' through the night
  Then we would cook cornmeal porridge
  Of which I'll share with you
  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
  Everything's gonna be all right
  Everything's gonna be all right
  Everything's gonna be all right
  Everything's gonna be all right
  Everything's gonna be all right
  
  So woman, no cry
  No, woman, no cry
  Oh my little sister, don't shed no tears
  No, woman, no cry
  
  I remember when we used to sit
  In the government yard in Trenchtown
  And then Georgie would make the fire lights
  As it was log wood burnin' through the night
  Then we would cook cornmeal porridge
  Of which I'll share with you
  My feet is my only carriage
  And so I've got to push on through
  But while I'm gone
  
  No, woman, no cry
  No, woman, no cry
  Oh my little darlin', seh don't shed no tears
  No, woman, no cry
  
  Little darling, don't shed no tears
  No, woman, no cry
  Little sister, don't shed no tears
  No, woman, no cry Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 51

• Lee from Green Bay, WiI think he's saying "my fear is my only courage".
• Robert from MerseysideTo me this song is about Bob knowing he has Cancer. Telling his woman not to cry and think about the good times they had in Trenchtown, He doesn't want to lose his foot as his feet is his only carriage and he has to walk or Push on through to the other side. Don't cry because everything is gonna be alright.
• Keith from ScotlandThis wonderful song has taken on many different meanings in the years since it was written and performed but as Bob Marley himself commented, when he spoke, sang or put forward his thoughts, they were simple. This song is about his life growing up in the housing project in Trenchtown and his relationship with his mother. ‘No woman, nuh cry’ means ‘no woman, don’t cry’. ‘Nuh’ means don’t.
  
  The rest of the song is a remembrance of that time and the struggles of life in that period.
  
• Bob from DelawareWhen I first heard this, I was unfamiliar with the Jamaican Patois. Not knowing the rest of the lyrics, I thought it meant “ if you don’t have a woman, you won’t cry.” In other words, women make you cry. I still think this would’ve been an interesting theme for a song.
• Dios Moagi from Tzaneen, South AfricaI used to play this song back when I was young and I would think it meant women bring tears. I later realised this song carries a completely different meaning. The Africa diaspora communities faced harsh years of slavery and poverty, so the song was about hope and comfort to the African people. The woman in the song is figurative and refers to all the African slaves, to look back and find hope.
• Les from UkThe chord sequence for this song is similar to The Beatles song 'Let it be'
• Sue Ambrose from UkIt's easy to well overthink the lyrics of this song, simply through not understanding Jamaican patois or Caribbean culture fully, or by making it purely about Bob Marley's life. Put simply the song is being sung to a woman who is emotionally close to the singer and who is about to leave her to move on (his feet are his only carriage, and it's something he must do. ("Got to push on through"). So please don't cry whilst he's away. The future's bright now but let's recall our simpler past when we were younger and broke and shared what we had. So dry your tears. Everything's going to be alright." Could be all about Bob Marley, but doesn't by any means have to be.
• Marshall from Arvada, CoI don't pretend to be able to interpret Bob's songs, but I found a few interesting things in my search to understand that I thought I would pass on for whatever they're worth. On YouTube I watched a performance of No Woman, No Cry by Bob himself in 1979 in Boston. The lyrics "My fear is my only carriage" were pretty clear. I was hoping it was "My feet..." but it's quite unmistakable in that performance at least. Also in that live performance he added the lyrics, "In this great future, which is life, you can't forget your past." I thought that was interesting. My guess would be that the song had multivalent meanings even to the artist, but since I didn't know the man (unfortunately) I can't say for sure. Another thing I found was a website that spoke of the song in a very clear way with a very probable interpretation, which is the same as what several others have said in this discussion, that it was related to his roots in Trenchtown and not wanting to forget where he came from. The link is: http://www.thehouseofmarley.com/blog/no-woman-no-cry/.
• Cyrus from San Francisco, CaThis is one of my favorite songs of all time! I have heard many (rare) recorded versions of this song and I'm sure he says "my FEET is my only carriage" as opposed to "my FEAR is my only carriage." It's a lot more obvious on earlier recordings than on the popular Legend version. Not saying that Bob never played with the lyrics, but on most of the recordings he definitely says FEET. It also makes sense because he is talking about overcoming the poverty of the ghetto...
• John from Minneapolis, MnEven if "SHE" does not have her eyes on your here and now "the mans" soul still has a place in the sky. Bob is casting the unfavorable emotional body to the faster place; establishing it to "represent" and not to dog the man that Bob is.
• John from Minneapolis, MnI'm sure the lyrics have more than one meaning since there's more than one kind of female personality. Which that being said, is part of the lyrical genius of the song. He means that to be high on life and not because your are "high" is a direction in life. And, as you know direction in life is what Reggae means as a rule. You live and learn and learn to live, simply that others may simply live. The medium is the message. www.thelifemanagementalliace.com/
• Johnnym from Toronto, CanadaThe word 'no' is a pretty powerful word. A lot of you are misinterpreting the song because of it. When I sing the song, I take out the first "no", and just sing .. "women .. no cry" hey .. "woman.. no cry". It makes you connect to the song better. Check it out:
  
  baby don't shed no tear
  ..women no cry
  little darling don't shed no tear
  ...women no cry
  
  he's saying:
  please no no no, baby .. my woman, don't cry.. my fear is my only carriage, we'll push on through
  
• Stefano from Rome, Italythe meaning is "no woman = no cry" otherwise he would have say "no woman don't cry...
• Jude from Newark, Njjosh, Hubba Hubba can mean many things, but what he meant here was hubba-hubba - hurry up quickly and be prompt, google definition: Hubba Hubba,
• Helana from Pahokee, Flim sorry if anyone misinterpreted me. this was supposed to be about what the song meant to me and it was something beautiful, not pain and now years later it is certain that there is a reason for it now.
• Sonny from Tampa, FlHelena, your body is your temple and your church. To destroy that is the gravest of sins. It inflicts the same pain you feel on all who love you. Remember your love. Spread the love, not the pain.
  First song my little girl learned to sing was Three Little Birds, cuz I sing it to her every night when I tuck her in. Love is all we have in this life that no one can take away. Tears come and go, but you can hold on to the love forever.
• Henry from Perth, AustraliaTo "geanco, kansas city, MO" The reason Marley didnt want to have his toe cut off to treat the cancer was because it went against the rastafarian belief that the body should be left whole and no part removed :)
• Komaldeep from Siliguri, Indiaok as seeing all these opinions i would like to add mine too.This song is so powerful and has different meanining to it, as taking it in reality.What i meant to say is that if there are no woman around the world then it is hard for us to find no cries of babies(humanity)......
• Christiana from Nicosia, CyprusHelena I hope you're doing ok now. I feel your pain because I had a similar experience to yours. A very good friend of mine also loved Bob Marley. Every time we would get together he would sing to me "No woman No cry". He was a very talented artist and we used to paint listening to this song. He said he had a special connection with Bob Marley and Kingston as everything in his life seemed to revolve around these two names. He even studied in Kingston (UK) and his street address I think was Kingston Street. Anyway to the point. Chris became clinically depressed and started taking anti-depressants until he became hooked. Last time I saw him I accidentally bumped into him as he had left his studies and flew back. And I said I'd call him. And I didn't. Until I woke up a couple of days later and reached for my phone to call him when at that moment I got a call saying he killed himself. To this day I feel guilty that maybe I could have done something to stop him. Its been 3 years now and the pain has eased a little bit. I know he is with me though because everytime I pray for help this song comes up either on the radio or on my random playlist. I know he is somewhere above watching over me and I'm sure Ryan is watching over you too.
• Frederick from Nairobi, KenyaNo woman no cry is a prophetic song about Africa...The woman is the African continent.Bob is asking her not to cry even in the midst of injustices against her.he reminds her of her inhabitants and how they lived and shared food in times past,how they traveled on foot.she is a woman in the sense that she is mature with children all over the world and a darling in sense of being the most wanted and scrambled for by the Babylon system,she is a sister of other continents....he sings hope to her by telling her everything will be alright.the names of towns he mentions are figurative for villages in Africa.
• Ghadah3 from Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaHelana, my heart with u
  
  you really made me cry
  
  i hope u could meet him in the other life
• Mehdi from Berkeley, CaOK all, This is the true story behind no woman no cry. One of the musicians of the Wailers was in prison (government yard in trenchtown) for being busted with drugs. There he made friends with some good people. One time when they were gathered together in the yard, they find this young man who was crying. The young man had been recently imprisoned for drug trafficking and been given along sentence (I don't remember how long, but were talking 10 years plus). He cried because he missed his lov, his woman, and he knew that no matter how strong her love, he had lost her. So these "good" people take him in and comfort him, and the tell him in their broken English: "no woman, no cry". I hoped you enjoyed this.
• Handel from Brown's Town, St. Ann, JamaicaA few corrections. The "terminal illness" thing with Bobby V Ford's bedside, while compelling, is just not true. Ford also did not have diabetes. He has Gangrene.
• Garrett from Rochester, Nydoes any body now if the lyrics are "in this great future, you can forget your past" or "in this great future you cant forget your past"
• Nadia from Glastonbury, EnglandI pay tribute to your caring nature, Edgar from Guatemala. Bless you, and bless Helana.
• Nadia from Glastonbury, EnglandHelp me out here: i once heard that this song was originally titled "No home and no cry", but due to pressure from the record company or some producer, given the controversial subject matter, it was renamed to fit some classic, predictible, guaranteed-to-sell theme. But the lyrics themselves don't make sense until the chorus gets replaced with No Home And No Cry ("[sitting] in the govt yard in Trenchtown", "my feet is my only carriage", forgetting the past to face a different, great future): does anyone know about a period of homelessness that Bob Nesta went through? I'm wondering whether the 'you' in this song is another man, a friend with whom he shared porridge after a nite of burning logfire whilst both being homeless.. or maybe it was addressed to Vincent Ford? I suppose we can only speculate...
  Thing is, i can't find any reference to this anywhere, only saw this trivia once and it had a "Eureka!" kind of effect on me!
  Bob WAS a prophet and his legacy lives on. ONElove! ;)
• Kris from Wichita, KsWow the last guy was on the money with it. It was Marley's rastafarian beliefs mainly but his dancing was important too.
• Jose Arias from Buenos Aires, ArgentinaIn response to Geanco: Bob Marley did refuse treatment for his cancer, because treatment meant amputation, but he refuse it not because it mean that he wouldn't be able to dance( this was true but not the main reason) it its because rastafari believe that the body must be a whole so they don't believe in amputation. And the song is not for Rita it is about Jamaica and their struggles.
• Nick from Raleigh, NcNo,no,no. What are you all talking about. Any true Bob Marley fan would know that "No Woman,No Cry" is a reference to Englands prior control of Jamaica. "Woman" is a reference to the Queen of England. They used to protest in Trench Town all night long against England. A purely political song. Peter Tosh was also very influential in this fight.
• Nattydread from Not Yet Zion, Australiaim not be sure what this song means, but to bob marley it meant something special, cos he cried when he played it live. issa beautiful song, and one of my favourite. bob marley really was a prophet, an he helped me wake up, and his tunes help me trod the way.
• Geanco from Kansas City, MoIn 1969 Bob Marley predicted he would die at the age of 36, on the same night he wrote 'Comma, Comma' for Johhny Nash. He wrote 'No Woman, No Cry' in 1974. The song is about soothing a grieving widow. Remebering old friends and good (as well as bad)times. 'In this bright future you can't forget your past, so dry your tears'--no matter what happens you will never forget me. 'My feet is my only carriage, so I've got to push on through, but while I'm gone everything is going to be alright'. He was diagnosed with melanoma in 1977--it started in his right great toe, refusing treatment until 1981 (he wrote the song in 1974) under Dr. Joseph Issel (former Nazi SS)as a last ditch effort. He refused treatment because it would interfere with his dancing and music--his feet are his 'only carriage' and so I will push on through. However it is too late and Bob Marley dies too young at the age of 36. Did Bob Marley not only predict the age of his death but also the natue of his death (1969 and 1974, respectively)? Incredible song by an admirable man, and one of the greatest songwriters of our time.
• Edgar from GuatemalaVery touching Helena, I hope you´re doing fine.
• Nik from Palmdale, CaMy favorite song of all-time.
• Asef from Silkeborg, DenmarkWhen Marley sings "No woman no cry" He don´t mean to say if there´s no women there´s no one who will cry.
• Helana from Pahokee, FlThis song everything to me. Sorry this is long but i dont want to leave anything important out. 3 years ago i met the love of my life Ryan Luke Kidd and he LOVED Bob Marley. In the beginning our relationship was phenomenal and beautiful. We would toke together but nothing serious. Then Ryan started to use heroin. It killed me to see him slipping away. I loved him so much I just had to stand by him he was worth so much more. At times i would cry in front of him because i wanted him to be happy so badly that i would have died for it. And he would simply lay there nodding out singing to me no woman no cry. We broke up a couple times. (If anyone knows a heroin addict they no they are anything but predictable and sometimes hed send me away so i didnt have to see the ugliness) one time when we broke up he had been clean for 7 months and relapsed and overdosed. He then called me and said baby i need you come home. By this time it had gotten real bad and he would play this song over and over. we broke up again and ive been waiting for him to ask me to come back home. His mother called me last night and said ryan overdosed and he died. when i play this song i get chills. its like he wanted me to have this song engrained in me so when the time came i would have some comfort. I know he is here with me and without this song i may have killed myself last night. sorry to be so depressing i had to get it off my chest. In memory of my dear pookiebear forever and always one love
• Saxa from London, United Stateswith ref' to the 'white rasta' (from WILKES-BARRE, PA.) the lyrics should read "ever living ever FAITHFUL". onelove
• Daniel from Honolulu, HiI think Bob Marley made this song for his wife Rita.I think this song put Jamaica on the map.Made Bob World Famous and made Rastafari what it is today.
• Annabelle from Eugene, OrI looooooove Ty Taylor's Version of this song! When he performs this, he turns it into a soulful ballad! Way to go Ty Taylor!
• Angel from Singapore, SingaporeJonathan Butler does a great version of this song too.
• Flo from Toulouse, France...and no, Troy, Vincent "tata" Ford is not (by 2005) dead. He's on a wheelchair (2 legs amp because of diabetis, if I'm right) but still alive.
• Flo from Toulouse, FranceFamilyman was not "added" to help make a mainstream sound : he was working with Bob since '69 and, as a bassist, plyed on almost every song since then (on a handful he was replaced by Robbie or Left Toe), till 1980.
  But Al Anderson was indeed, along with Junior Marvin, hired to give a blues/rock feel to Bob's music.
• P-dub from Grand Junction, CoDustin -- you're a litte off on the song Kaya ~ Kaya is not a reference to Rita, or at least not directly. Kaya is a type of herb. That entire Album is a homage to herb and love ... and Jude, nicely done.
• John from Atlanta, GaThis song is VERY special to me as I just lost my soulmate (everyone says that but it is true) and wife on Nov. 2, 2005. We had just taken a second honeymoon to Jamaica in late August. She had some illnesses that eventually took her life although it was unexpected. She was only 43 and if you like you may read her obit in The Atlanta Journal on Nov. 4th and 5th. She was borderline genius and ironically was a reason that she was not going to get better. Heck, she was smarter than the doctors and just wanted to get away from her pain and suffering.
  Anyway, our relationship had not exactly been going "swimmingly" lately so I was really worried about the trip.
  Best vacation ever. God gave me one last great week with her and this song will always be in my heart. I cannot listen to it just yet but I can now read the lyrics and I am sure I read too much into some of them but does that really matter at this point?
  A client asked me if I spent more time with the local Jamaicans that worked on our resort or the tourists. I was shocked to realize this but my wife and I NEVER spent a minute with other tourists there but ENTIRELY with Jamaicans. Looking back I realize what is the point to go to Jamaica and spend time with someone from the U.S.?
  Thank you so much to everyone in Jamaica that was so gracious and nice. Thanks for opening up your lives and thoughts.
  thx
  JH
  Atlanta, GA
  P.S. I want to reinterate that I had nothing to do with the slave thing!!! (inside joke with some of my Jamaican friends)
• Izzie from Lala, Hii LOVE this song, its my favorite bob song. its awesome. but have you heard sublime's version of this song?? its SOOOOO GOOD. such a good cover. i love it. you definately should listen. i LOVE it.
• Troy from London, EnglandThe story I heard was that V Ford was a good friend of Bob's who died of a teminal illness and while he lay on his soon to be death bed with his wife weeping over him he said to her 'no woman, no cry'. Because he was going to a better place and she should be happy for him. Bob was touched by this sentiment and wrote the song as a positive message to all who fight the struggle. He credited the song to V Ford to help his familiy financially.
• Evileye_8@msn.com from Perth, Australiathis song is also performed by Sublime
• Blackchick from Kingston, OtherSorry, this was NOT Bob Marley's first hit. They already had huge hits before they went to London.
  
  This was the first time white people in Europe "discovered" Bob, the same way Columbus "discovered" America.
• Josh from Pittsburgh, PaIt appears as though some people have reworked the meaning and truth of Bob Marley's message to fit their own opinions. Perhaps one should question the idea they have formulated before they refer to it as the truth. Bob Marley's "No Woman No Cry" is a deep and loving song that speaks to all people who know struggle. It is not a direct message to his wife, nor hidden messaged propoganda. It is a song to Jamaica, true. But a couple of the lines posted were inaccurate. The correct lines are; "My feet is my only carraige" not "My fear is my only carraige", "Observing the hypocrites" not "Hubba Hubba Hurry the hypocrites"
• Jude from Newark, NjThe song is not about Rita, the song is about a Country, (Jamaica) a Culture, Comraderie, Encourage ment and a belief (Rastafarian)
  
  "I remember when we use to sing in the government yard in trench town" growing up poor in Trenchtown, with its delapidated buildings and shantytowns, unsanitary sewage systems, and sub moral living conditions.
  
  "hubba hubba hurry the hypocrites, as they would mingle with the people we meet" these lyrics translated mean, attention, attention, there are informants and spys among the good people, serving the oppressor for there own gain.
  
  "good friends we've had oh good friends we lost along the way"
  interpeted people were killed and tortured as in most oppressed country's.
  
  "in this great future, you cant forget your past"
  
  interpeted means, the revolutions has started we will overcome, not forgeting where one came from.
  
  "and then Georgie, would make the fire light" log would burn on through the night
  "then we would cook corn meal porage, of which I'd share with you"
  
  at night they would set a fire for (1.Heat and 2. cooking) with a tree log in the middle of the community of metal one room, make shift shacks and it is there that they would cook cornmeal porage (couldn'tafford any meat or other food we take for granted) and eat together, share stories sing spitiual songs, with make shift instuments.
  
  "my fear is my only carraige, so I got to to push on through.
  
  the fear of fighting for freedom, or the fear of living in sub standard conditions in an oppressed country, either way " I (will)got to push on through, but while I'm gone my baby, No Jamaica No Cry" .
  
  I first heard this song while and inmate at Rahway State Prison in New Jersey USA, and heard this song in the yard, I met a gentleman who was once part of Marley's entourage, verified through pictures and letters, and he broke down the song for me in this fashion, He lived it!
  
  Rasta forever!
  
  Jude W. Lennon
  lennonjw9@yahoo.com
• White Rasta from Wilkes-barre, Paever livin ever fearful ever sure....rastafari!
• Dustin from Tampa, FlI don't know if he wrote it or not, but this song, along with stir it up and kaya, was written when Marley was in England. The songs were to his wife Rita. At the time Marley was having an afffair, and Rita knew. Bob wrote the songs to reassure Rita that she still got top-billing in his life.

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