what did bob marley mean when he sang "no woman no cry ?"?

Answer 1

If ya don't have a woman, you don't have to cry.

Answer 2

No Woman, No Cry is a jamaican term meaning Dont cry, woman. Listen to the lyrics, "oh my little sister, don't shed no tears", "everything is gonna be alright". The whole song is about growing up in the poverty town of Trenchtown, Kingston, Jamaica.

Answer 3

He was lamenting a lost relationships and the goodness that it had. I am not sure what caused the lost but the pain was real. In the end he is saying two things (like all poetic and artistic people do) that although he had no woman he was not going to cry and " everything is gonna be alright!" In addition he is was saying woman don't shed your tears either and don't cry!

Please find a copy of the lyrics below to make your own assessment

Bob Marley Lyrics

No Woman No Cry Lyrics


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

'Cause - 'cause - 'cause I remember when a we used to sit
In a government yard in Trenchtown,
Oba - obaserving the 'ypocrites - yeah! -
Mingle with the good people we meet, yeah!
Good friends we have, oh, good friends we have lost
Along the way, yeah!
In this great future, you can't forget your past;
So dry your tears, I seh. Yeah!

No, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry. Eh, yeah!
A little darlin', don't shed no tears:
No, woman, no cry. Eh!

Said - said - said I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown, yeah!
And then Georgie would make the fire lights,
I seh, logwood burnin' through the nights, yeah!
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge, say,
Of which I'll share with you, yeah!
My feet is my only carriage
And so I've got to push on through.
Oh, while I'm gone,
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right, yeah!
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right-a!
Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right, yeah!
Everything's gonna be all right!

So no, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
I seh, O little - O little darlin', don't shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry, eh.

No, woman - no, woman - no, woman, no cry;
No, woman, no cry.
One more time I got to say:
O little - little darlin', please don't shed no tears;
No, woman, no cry

Answer 4

I would say what he meant is if you have no woman you won't cry as there is no hurt. If you have a woman or significant other there at times will be hurt. If there is hurt then you could cry. So no woman no cry. Only a guess but this is what I would take it to mean.

Answer 5

He was trying to comfort a woman in distress. I imagine like when a mother loses a son, you would want to get that woman's spirits up who is grieving.

"Please Woman, Don't Cry" = "No Woman, No Cry"

Answer 6

He was asking a woman not to cry. By the way, when the Beatles sang I wanna hold your hand, they meant that they wanted to hold that person's hand. Do you often get confused?

Answer 7

He was hurt by a breakup, so after that he knew that if he didn't fall in love with a woman, he wouldn't be crying from the pain of a breakup! Very true. The reason we hurt is because we miss what we had and because of rejection.

Answer 8

No woman, no cry

'Cause I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown
Oba, ob-serving the hypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet
Good friends we have had, oh good friends we've lost along the way
In this bright future you can't forget your past
So dry your tears I say

No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
oh my Little sister, 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 light
Log wood burnin' through the night
Then we would cook corn meal porridge
Of which I'll share with you

My feet is my only carriage
So I've got to push on through
But while I'm gone...

Ev'rything's gonna be alright
Ev'rything's gonna be alright
Ev'rything's gonna be alright
Ev'rything's gonna be alright
Ev'rything's gonna be alright
Ev'rything's gonna be alright
Ev'rything's gonna be alright
Ev'rything's gonna be alright

no woman, no cry
No, no woman, no woman, no cry
Oh, little sister, don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry

No woman, no woman, no woman, no cry
No woman, no cry
Oh, my little darlyn no shed no tears
No woman, no cry, yeah
any sister no shed no tears, no women no cry


No woman no cry, no woman no cry
No woman no cry, no woman no cry

Say, say, said I remember when we used to sit
In a government yard in Trenchtown
Obba, obba, serving the hypocrites
As the 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 say

No woman no cry, no woman no cry
Little darling, don't shed no tears, no woman no cry
Say, say, said I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown
And then Georgie would make the fire light
As it was, love would burn on through the night
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge
Of which I'll share with you
My fear is my only courage
So I've got to push on thru
Oh, while I'm gone

Everything 's gonna be alright, everything 's gonna be alright
Everything 's gonna be alright, everything 's gonna be alright
Everything 's gonna be alright, everything 's gonna be alright
Everything 's gonna be alright, everything 's gonna be alright
So woman no cry, no, no woman no cry
Oh, my little sister
Don't shed no tears
No woman no cry
I remember when we use to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown
And then Georgie would make the fire lights
As it was, log would burnin' through the nights
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge
Of which I'll share with you
My fear is my only courage
So I've got to push on thru
Oh, while I'm gone
No woman no cry, no, no woman no cry
Oh, my little darlin'
Don't shed no tears
No woman no cry, No woman no cry

Oh my Little darlin', don't shed no tears
No woman no cry
Little sister, don't shed no tears
No woman no cry

==> I have no idea

Answer 9

I think maybe he was talking about past experience and insinuating that women cause troubles and whenever he has been with a woman before it has caused hurt and upset, hence if he has no woman he has no hurt and upset, hence no cry?? That is what i would think anyway!!

Answer 10

Without a woman, you don't cry! With a woman, you end up crying for the rest of your life.

Answer 11

"No woman, don't cry" is what he meant.
Apparently he got a mistress for a long time, and finally his wife found out about it.
So he sang this song dedicated to her.