No Woman No Cry

HAHA why would Bob Marley be talking about not having a woman? He had MANY woman, and stayed married to Rita through it all. I think this song is to the people he stayed with in Trenchtown, like "Georgie". I assume Rita is the woman he's addressing. This song is about pushing through despite struggle and finding tha strength in your hope for the future. Bob says that "everythings gonna be alright" because tha struggle you are goin through right now will soon become the past you can't forget in your bright future. Idk about other supposed meaning where people are saying that the queen is the woman & its a song about protests. They used to sing in the yard in Trenchtown, I didn't know anything about protest. Bob & Rita were shot because of politics but I don't think this song is political.

Thank you Guys, you gave me light.

No woman, please don't cry, it's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna be alright.

I'm sure that it means, "Don't cry, woman." The initial "no" in "No Woman No Cry" is not a denial but for emphasis. Also, remember that Marley is using the Jamaican dialect of english. The title should be read, "Woman No Cry."

If you actually listen to the song he is saying "No Woman, don't cry." Jamacian accents are hard to understand if you are not from Jamaica. The Japanese just need to chill out because this song means he doesn't want to see a woman cry because there is no reason for it. In his wife's book "No Woman, No Cry" she explains what he means in the prolouge:

"I had put his head in my arm, and I was singing "God Will Take Care of You." But then I started to cry and said, "Bob, please don't leave me." And he looked up and said, "Leave you, go where? [What are you crying for? Forget crying, Rita!] Just keep singing. Sing! Sing!"

The lyrics of the song mean if you have a woman you will cry...if you don't have a woman you will not cry...No woman no cry...

James Warrior, when you put the line No woman no cry out of context your explanation would be flawless, but you are wrong, some people have already given a pretty clear analyse of the song so I wont bother.

for me the song of bob marley "no woman, no cry" in my own point of view it means it doesn't matter if you have a woman or don't have, there is nothing to cry for. It in short no woman, don't cry!

Sign: uwfgv Hello!!! khctf and 407xhbyfwwuus and 2547 My Comments: Great!

Hank, James Warrior is not "wrong", there is no such thing as an incorrect interpretation. I may disagree with his interpretation, but that does not make it wrong ; )

"No Woman No Cry"---- simply it means about, "f you don’t have a woman you will not cry" or "don’t cry woman" , "if you have a woman or don’t have, there is nothing to cry for" or many other meanings of such effect.
But to me , if we think the depth inside it, why not we think----
"If there was no woman, there wouldn't be and baby arriving the world and the very announcement of an infant is nothing but a cry"
Thx to all.

I think it means that after having a hysterectomy, you may be happier, as you no longer have any fear of getting pregnant. That's "No womb and no cry". Still think there's no such thing as an incorrect interpretation, Mike?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Woman,_No_Cry

reading your post was kinda funny..ü "no woman, nuh cry" nuh=don't.
but its not about just women, the song is about government also, during that time they where slaves and remember who colonized them?:) yes that country has a queen:) thats the woman:)

we rastas are common sense people.everyone always want the truth to be on their side ,but God fearing people knows that the only real truth is Gods truth.Bob is simply giving people hope (especially woman whom he viewed as the mother of creation).he is also telling us that his not gonna be with us much longer,and that our energy should not be wasted on tears but rather to help create a worldwide situation where everyone can live in ONE harmony.

JAH LIVE children

Simple as this... the dialect he originally used was "No woman, Nuh Cry." In Jamaican dialect, the "nuh" means "don't". He's telling a woman not to cry, not to shed a tear, and that everything is going to be alright.

Originally no, woman, nuh cry. And "nuh" in Jamaican English means "don't".

No, woman, don't cry. Everything will be all right. I'll be back, things will get better, don't cry. I love you.

I think this is what he meant. It's beautiful and like all his songs, it comes out of his experience, carrying his energy and if we listen, we cannot help but be moved by it.

Oh my God people, In native english, such as jamaican english, we use 'nuh' for don't.
It is that simple. The reason for this stems from the days of slavery where the slaves had a language of there own, but were forced to communicate in english with their masters. What then happened was a mixture of various african dialects and english which gave birth to patois. A broken down form of an already broken english.

All confusion would be eliminated if the song's original line was kept: "No, Woman, Nuh Cry" or, in plain English, "No, Woman, Don't Cry".

As mentioned above, the song is about getting through struggling times; and he's probably talking to his wife, as "the government yard in Trenchtown" refers to the Jamaican housing projects where he lived in the 50s.

The title and main refrain, "No Woman, No Cry", in Jamaican patois would be "No, woman, nuh cry". The "nuh", which makes a shorter vowel sound for "no", is the equivalent of the contraction "don't".[5] wiki

This is telling his women not to cry everything is gonna be alright its a song of comfort kind of like don't worry be happy he explains how him and his lover once shared time for he state my feet are my only carriage so i gotta keep pushing though meaning he has to go but no women dont cry (My feet is my only carriage,
So I've got to push on through.
But while I'm gone, I mean:
Everything's gonna be all right!) so every verse list a certain struggle but his respond is no women dont cry

What is wrong with most of you people? Most of you can't even spell in English let alone understand other dialects and languages! Why do you come on-line and make ignorant comments. The majority of you haven't a clue what your talking about.

And thank you to those select few who actually did their homework. I commend you for raising the intelligence level of this discussion. While you can interpret any lyric in whatever way it has meaning for yourself personally (the beauty of art), I believe that Marley had a very specific meaning. It is true that "Nuh" means "don't." The original version of the song was titled, "No Woman, Nuh Cry," meaning "No woman, don't cry." He is leaving and trying to comfort a woman that the slum they live in shouldn't get her down. Educate yourselves just a little and this becomes blatantly obvious.

Go back to school.

Hah Hah, it's only a punctuation marks question!
Please keep it simple. The answer is:
No, woman, no cry
No cry woman, please not to cry.
That's all.

People do you even read the lyrics or do you only hear the 'no woman no cry' phrase in the song?
he also sings 'hey little sister, don't shed no tears' so it's obvious that he's telling some woman not to cry
He didn't mean that women are pain in the butt and there would be no tears if not for women.
I hope somebody shares my oppinion

I was reading somewhere i cant remember.
but Bob Marley and the Wailers original recording of this song is from a live gig in London. and it was apparently originally titled "no woman nuh cry" and anyone who knows better correct me if im wronge. but i believe 'nuh' translates from native jamaican to 'do not' or dont. so if im not mistaken the song would be "No woman, do not cry" which i believe to be a line of comfort for the woman. the song is about the trenchtown living.

admittingly, havent read the above answers, but:
The title and main refrain, "No Woman, No Cry", would be rendered "No, woman, nuh cry" in Jamaican Patois. The "nuh", which makes a shorter vowel sound for "no", is the equivalent of the contraction "don't".[5] from wikipedia

It uses a Jamaican slang term, phonetically it would be:

no woman nuh cry

the 'nuh' is used in the Jamaican dialect meaning 'don't', it confused me that someone as peaceful as Bob Marley wrote lyrics that seemed a bit sexist and macho and how much girls sang along to the song, so yeah, I looked it up.

Would you morons stop beating a dead horse. This question has been answered over and over already! Get a clue!

Yes Zu is correct the song is about bob marley's reflection upon life in trench town but it also speak to women telling them to be strong because things will get better.

Now for the person that criticized jamaican creole as being hackneyed, let me educate you a little.
I must first say I am jamaican. If you go through history you would have understood how different languages came about the jamaican creole may not have been standardized as yet however it is a language.
P.S. if you did not know what you now refer to as standard english is a mixture of german, dutch, and other languages; and it was once also in the state that jamaican creole is now in.

I want it to mean, if you don't have a woman, you don't need to cry about it. And I'm going even further with: no man, no cry! So there!!!

I urgently need Dr. Azer Naji's email address for research purposes. She has posted a message in this site. Is there any way to find her email address? Thanks

It means "No, Woman, Don't Cry".

Consider the original lyrics:

"No woman no cry, no woman no cry
Little darling, don't she'd no tears, no woman no cry"

Wow, no one knows..the woman he's singing about is the queen of england.."no woman, no cry". No queen=no cry/pain. it's a very political song, and not about females crying, otherwise we wouldn't start a thread on what it means >.>

OMG, how could you people be Bob Marley fans and not understand his lyrics? He was a messenger of Jah who used his music to spread Jah's message. If you can't understand what he's saying then you completely missed the point of the message and the message itself. In the context of the song, "no woman no cry" means "No woman don't cry." Bob and his wife Rita came from very humble beginnings, they experienced extreme poverty together as a young couple. So in the song Bob is comforting and reassuring his wife that she have no need to cry because he remembers the hardship that they went through in their life and will therefore never forsake her. Bob also discribed some of the experiences that they went through in their past with lines like "I remember when we use to sit in the government yard in Trenchtown." Trenchtown is where Bob met his wife and where they began their life's journey together. Please people, do yourselves a favor, when you listen to Bob Marley's music, don't just listen to the harmony actually listen to the lyrics they all have strong messages in them. Jah Bless.

think of it this way, a woman is in deep pain, and crying, bob was telling her, no woman, or dont woman or stop woman , nuh cry, meaning dont cry.. NO WOMAN NO CRY.. judging from the context of the song, shes singing this to a woman not for a man to dont cry without a woman..

Bob is bascially tell ing his love ones do not worry although he moving on to greater things he will not forget the pass and he will always be there they will be alright.

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.

Said - said - said: I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown,
Oba - observing the hypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet.
Good friends we have, oh, good friends weve lost
Along the way.
In this great future, you cant forget your past;
So dry your tears, I seh.

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
ere, little darlin, dont shed no tears:
No, woman, no cry.

Said - said - said: I remember when-a we used to sit
In the government yard in trenchtown.
And then georgie would make the fire lights,
As it was logwood burnin through the nights.
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge,
Of which Ill share with you;
My feet is my only carriage,
So Ive got to push on through.
But while Im gone, I mean:
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right!
I said, everythings gonna be all right-a!
Everythings gonna be all right!
Everythings gonna be all right, now!
Everythings gonna be all right!

So, woman, no cry;
No - no, woman - woman, no cry.
Woman, little sister, dont shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry.

I remember when we used to s

No woman no cry means No! woman, don't cry. The absence of the punctuation can lead the listen to interpret it in a variety of ways, but if listened in context, the meaning becomes clear.

Jamaican patois is a distinctive language or dialect - just as English is - which uses words from many other languages including English and French and has its own form of grammar. It is far more flexible and creatively oriented than many other languages. There are numerous variations of Jamaican patois and local accents, just as there are local accents and dialects in England.

The history of English is similar. It started out as dozens of disparate dialects, which were each used to be able to distinguish outsiders from locals and communicate in a spoken "code" unintelligible to the King's tax collectors.

Originally the song was titled "No Woman, Nuh Cry" or "Woman, Nuh Cry" (if I recall correctly) and it means "Woman, don't cry", but the title was Anglicized for the convenience of non-Jamaicans as the popularity of Bob Marley's music exploded outside Jamaica. The most plausible explanation for the song's meaning (in my opinion) is that Jamaica (in Rastafari belief, woman is the god of life) shouldn't cry while he (Bob Marley) is gone (on tour?) or is going to be gone (when he dies - he had predicted his early demise around this time).

The references to Trench Town are to provide some context and describe the life of desperate poverty and suffering in Kingston's best known slum.

"Everyt'ing's gonna be a'right"

Eventually, English language was, by necessity, standardized as what is now known as Britain was consolidated under the power of a single kingdom.

The Holy Bible as we know it today is just a consolidation of numerous texts, many of which were not included in the final consolidated version of the Bible. Powerful Christian leaders decided which books would be included in the standardized Bible and which would be left out.

Perhaps the influence of globalization will eventually accelerate the process of linguistic standardization of Jamaican patois, but I doubt it because it is largely a spoken language with limited opportunity for outside influence due to the location being an island and the difficulty non-Jamaicans experience in understanding the language.

I thought that no women no cry was bob's song to his wife, rita when she became suspicious of his alledged mistresses. The song explain to her that there was no other women so don't cry about it. He goes on reminicing all the hard/old/good times they had together that meant more to him than any other women.

As a Jamaican and reading the lyrics, it is obvious that he is telling his woman not to cry. Not sure about what though, I am not really a big fan.I think it is basically a reflective song. Oh, and Patois(the Jamaican dialect), pronounced Pat-wa, is a mixture of English, French, African tribal languages among other languages. This was because there was a language barrier in the days of slavery and they all needed to communicate(slaves and slavemasters) so they developed a hybrid english language basically.

what ever the meaning it still is 1 of the greatest anthems ever created by a man that i am sure is sitting at the table next to god !!.... also i guess there is no wrong answer... what u believe it means has some connections to the feelings this song gives you

so guys NO WOMEN NO CRY!!!

Original title is "Nuh woman don't cry. Nuh in jamaica means, "Hey"...it means hey woman don't cry. This song is for his friend Tartar, where tartar help bob marley (giving food and shelter). The woman who is georgie is always crying because the slum that they are living, in trenchtown is going to be demolished.

No women no cry, its actually no women nuh cry. in jamaica nuh means don't. So its No, women, don't cry.

WTFC!

Georgie is still alive and well though ageing rapidly. I had the good fortune of meeting Georgie at Bob Marley's house (56 Hope Road, Kingston) in August 2012. At the house there is a mural of Georgie on the wall captioned "Georgie keep the fire light".

I always thought the meaning was:
No woman, no misery.
So without a woman you're better off.
I like that one better than the actual meaning......
(PS: I'm not a homosexual!)

it means 'no woman! dont cry!' in jamaican patois or creole..... pls dnt get confused the 2nd 'NO' stands for 'dont'

I believe he could be making reference to the Queen or its code for NO VICTIM NO CRIME referring to trespass, loitering (government yard in trench town) or even smoking joints (Georgie would make the fire light).
He is trying to tell the common man about common law and the inherent rights of every living human being.

It means "Please don't cry, my love".
When I'm away looking for a living in the post WW2 society of Jamaica, don't shed a tear.
For everything's gonna be alright, and we'll eat cornmeal porridge together later this night. Trust me.

This song is about love, and how a man reassure his spouse ... it's never about breaking up, it's never about abusing of women

I thought it mean if a boy don't involve themself with girl , they won't ever get hurt and you know won't never cry .

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.

It's a purely political song about the subjugation of Jamaica by the British. "Woman" is "Queen".

It means, if the woman is gone, there will be no tears. It is a reference to the queen and her rule of Jamaica at the time. It's a political song.

"No woman No cry" contrary to social belief is about telling a woman that she shouldn't cry. The idea that we have about a man not crying if he doesn't have a woman,or the famous one "if a man doesn't have a woman he doesn't have reason to cry,because he doesn't have a woman to cause him pain(emotionally) or to stress him out".
Many people taught that's what it meant. But really and truly its only saying that women shouldn't cry because of hardships.
And also the woman in the song specifically:In the song the man is a travelling minstrel telling his woman he will come back for her.
"So dry your eyes I say, and while I'm gone
everything is going to be alright
everything is going to be alright now
no woman no cry, no woman no cry".

And when he said "dry your tears" that didn't make it clear enough for you, genius?

I’ve thought that the meaning is “There is no woman who does not cry”.

And when he said "so dry your tears," that wasn't clear enough for you, genius...?

No woman no cry means, If you have no woman you don't deal with all that bullshit that comes with a relationship.

it´s like say: "without woman, there isn´t cry".

I always thought it meant, ‘if he doesn’t have a woman, he won’t cry,’ as in, having his or a woman causes him pain and tears, not having one spares him the pain that comes to him in a relationship...

This song is a comforting song. Here Bob is telling the lady "don't shed" your tears - "No woman, (don't) cry" in Jamaican lingo. He goes on to recall some nice memories and instances that show courage and determination in a bid to inspire the woman to strength.

"So, dry your tears, I say"

Enjoy

Bob Marley is imploring (asking) his woman (girlfriend/wife) not to cry. Things have been worse. “Everything’s gonna be all right.” Simple. Be strong.

The lyrics say:
No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
'Ere, little darlin', don't shed no tears:
No, woman, no cry.

So it means No, Woman, don't cry

It's a song of romantic and kindred love about a man reminiscing about the time he left his home, his close friends and his girlfriend to find work elsewhere. He reflects about his close friendships, despite their poverty (he lives in a poor ghetto, namely the "government yards in Trenchtown"). His imminent departure makes his girlfriend cry; and the man comforts her ("little sister don't shed no tear; no woman, no cry" meaning "please don't cry").

The song is from Bob Marley's real life. He assigned the lyrics copyright to his friend so that he could continue to "cook corn meal porridge" for the poor residents.

The song has a political implication, due to its frankness about poverty and its celebration of people's strength in that situation. That's the point of comparing "hypocrits" to the "good people".

The meaning of the repetition of "no woman, no cry" isn't apparent from reading the lyrics. If you listen to the song you'll hear it start as a request (as in "please don't cry") and end as a statement of women's strength (as in "you are so strong you never cry"). Note that the woman is the strong person here: she is being left behind in the ghetto, presumably to keep their home whilst he sends her his earnings.

The multilayered meanings, the subtle messages despite the simple lyrics, the subtle but simple-sounding playing -- all are reasons why this song is still so loved, despite being over 40 years old.

i started getting the idea that it could be that without a woman there is no cry of a child. No woman, no cry also could be said "No woman, no child".

Bob Marley wrote this song for his sister, the words 'no, woman, no cry' are literally telling his sister not to cry. He is reminding her of happy memories when they would make cornmeal porridge by a fire light, he is reminding her that everything will be alright

It speaks to rise of Rastafarianism after the earthquake in 1907. Georgie is King George V of England. This was a very troubling time for Jamaica. And it laments the trouble the common people were going through. Marley would have been very familiar with this times as told to him by his parents and grand parents and everyone around him. The song is a lament to not cry- for better times will come, and remember the good times we had.