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No Woman, No Cry

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This article is about the Bob Marley & Faliyo song. For the 1998 painting by Chris Ofili, see No Woman No Cry (painting).
"No Woman, No Cry"
Song

"No Woman, No Cry" is a reggae song by Bob Marley & the Wailers. The song first became known in 1974 through the studio album Natty Dread. The live version from the 1975 album Live! is best known — it was this version which was released on the greatest hits compilation Legend. The original demo version of the song which is unreleased was a Gospel version. This version had only the piano riff as the main instrument and was recorded in London for Island Records in 1973 with Peter Tosh and some unknown female backing singers.

At the same time of this recording, the demo of the Island version of "Lively up Yourself" was recorded. This was the last time all three original Wailers (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Neville "Bunny" Livingston - also known as Bunny Wailer) recorded together in a studio. This version too is unreleased.

The live version of the song was No. 37 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Writing credit

Though Bob Marley may have written the song,[1][2] or at least the melody,[3] songwriter credits were 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 checks received by Ford ensured the survival and continual running of his soup kitchen.[4]

Chart performance

Chart (1975) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 22
Dutch Top 40 23
New Zealand Singles Chart 30
Chart (1981) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart 8

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 (a "mumbled" vowel, often represented as "uh" in spelling) and represents a clitic ("weakened") form of "no". It is the equivalent to the contraction "don't". The song is about growing up in the ghetto and persuading a woman that things will get better, entreating her not to cry.[5]

The Fugees version

"No Woman, No Cry"
Song

"No Woman, No Cry" is the fourth single from the Fugees' second studio album, The Score. The song was produced by Salaam Remi. The Fugees' version of the track features Wyclef Jean on lead vocals. An official remix of the track, featuring Stephen Marley (musician), 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.

Tracklisting

UK CD1
  1. "No Woman, No Cry" (LP Version) - 4:03
  2. "No Woman, No Cry" (Remix) - 3:55
  3. "No Woman, No Cry" (Remix Instrumental) - 3:55
  4. "Killing Me Softly" (Live) - 4:25
UK CD2
  1. "Don't Cry, Dry Your Eyes" - 5:03
  2. "Don't Cry, Dry Your Eyes" (Instrumental) - 5:03
  3. "No Woman, No Cry" (LP Version) - 4:03
  4. "A Change Is Gonna Come" (Live) - 6:04

Other cover versions

The song has since been covered by such artists as Nina Simone, Katherine Jenkins, Gym Class Heroes, Londonbeat, Joe Dassin (known as "Si Tu Penses À Moi"), Murder One[disambiguation needed], Blues Traveler (with Ziggy Marley), Cas Haley, O.A.R., Devon Allmans Honeytribe, Joan Baez, Xavier Rudd, Jimmy Buffett, Boney M., Jonathan Butler, Gilberto Gil (Daniela Mercury recorded this version at Balé Mulato - Ao Vivo),[citation needed] The Fugees,Tim Barry, No Use for a Name, Whoopi Goldberg and the Reggae Rodents, Hikaru Utada, The String Cheese Incident, NOFX (live, with El Hefe playing and singing alone), Tila Tequila, Pearl Jam, Andrés Calamaro, Hugh Masekela, Hedley, Jimmy Cliff, Pauline Black, Peter Rowan, John Mayer, Colbie Caillat, Bill Bourne, Matisyahu, Matt Maher, Graham Parker, Edwin McCain, Keller Williams, Eterna Inocencia, Linkin Park, as a duet by Faith Hill with Tim McGraw, Sean Kingston,[6] and the Arabic singer Ali Bahar. The "G-punk" band Hed PE as of the year 2002, began covering the song at many of their live shows. The Ukrainian reggae band 5nizza and Russian rock band Chaif covered the song at many of their live performances. German metal band J.B.O. parodied the song as "Ka Alde, ka G'schrei", and Linkin Park covered the song and played part of it during their 2010-2011 A Thousand Suns tour. It can be heard at the beginning of "The Messenger" in Tel Aviv, Israel.[7] The ska punk band Spunge is the only band to ever have officially been given permission by the Marley family to change the lyrics, for their cover on the album Room For Abuse.[8] The pop rap band Sweetbox used a part of the song for the chorus of their song "Everything's Gonna Be Alright". Naughty by Nature sampled Boney M's version of the song for their hit single "Everything's Gonna Be Alright." Lithuanian pop group ŽAS also covered the song. The song "City of Love" by Yes includes "No woman, no cry" as a lyric. * American pianist Louis Durra, recorded an instrumental trio version on "Tangled Up In Blue EP" and "Arrogant Doormats" (2011). It was also covered by The Collective Sound in Bournemouth, England in 2011. Nigerian recording artist Wizkid performed a cover of the song at Koga Studios for BBC's Destination Africa.[9]

Samples and parodies

References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7806778.stm No Woman No Cry 'songwriter' dies, BBC (2009-01-01)
  2. ^ "In pictures: The legacy of Bob Marley". BBC. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  3. ^ Humphries, Patrick (2003). "No Woman No Cry". BBC Radio 2. BBC. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
  4. ^ No Woman, No Cry : Rolling Stone
  5. ^ Dawes, Kwame. Bob Marley: Lyrical Genius. London: Sanctuary, 2002. ISBN 1-86074-433-8. Pg. 119
  6. ^ The Today Show, July 2007
  7. ^ Linkin Park at Tel Aviv 11-15-10
  8. ^ BBC - Hereford and Worcester Music, Clubs and Gigs - Mick Jones
  9. ^ Nelson, Trevor. "Wizkid – Joy / No Woman No Cry (Bob Marley Cover) in the 1Xtra Live Lounge (Lagos, Nigeria)". BBC Radio 1Xtra. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  10. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZMbTFNp4wI

External links

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