DUTC#115 September 14, 2025

Feature Song: “No Woman, No Cry”

DUTC’s are back from their brief summer hiatus. I am dedicating September’s posts to Playing For Change, which I’ve featured many times before, and to Bob Marley (#115 and #116) and Keith Richards (#116). Both PFC videos are from their ongoing series, “Song Around the World,” that feature musicians from all around the globe paying tribute to the songs and the messages/feelings conveyed by the lyrics. Often these musicians are contributing to the songs playing traditional instruments, which bring yet another level to the richness of the music.

First up is Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry,” which was first recorded for his 1974 album, Natty Dread. But it was in 1975, after Eric Clapton’s cover of Marley’s “I Shot the Sherrif” (1974) achieved global popularity, that Marley had his international breakthrough with his first hit outside of Jamaica, which was a live version of “No Woman, No Cry,” from the album, Live (1975). This was followed by his breakthrough album in the United States, Rastaman Vibration (1976). Although Bob Marley is widely believed to have written the song, or at least the melody, songwriting credit was 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. It is referred to directly in the song: “’Cause, ’cause, ’cause I remember when we used to sit / In the government yard in Trenchtown,” which was a public housing project. The title and main refrain of the song “No Woman, No Cry,” means “Woman, don’t cry. The lyric is sometimes misunderstood outside Jamaica to mean “if there is no woman, there is no reason to cry.” However, the lyric 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 “weakened” form of “no.”

Robert Nesta Marley (1945-1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist, who is considered one of the pioneers of reggae, fusing elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady. He is renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style, which helped increase the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, making him a global figure in popular culture. He became known as a Rastafarian icon, infusing his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also often considered as a global symbol of Jamaican music, culture, and identity, and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms.

PFC’s cover features Brazilian singer-songwriter Gilberto Gill (guitar, vocals) and Bob Marley’s son, Jamaican-American musician, Stephen Marley (vocals), as well as contributions from 18 musicians and vocalists from 12 different countries, including Brazil, Japan, United States, Congo, Italy, South Africa, Israel, Jamaica, and others. Some of these musicians have contributed to other PFC covers that I have featured, including Mermans Mosengo (Congo), Roberto Luti (Italy), and Tual Ben Ari (Israel). These talented world musicians add an incredible depth to this song, as they continue to do on all the covers from this series.

Enjoy!

Bob Marley. “No Woman, No Cry” original, 1974.

Playing For Change. “No Woman, No Cry” cover, featuring Gilberto Gil and Stephen Marley. Song Around the World, 2024.

Los Angeles 2025