No Woman, No Cry | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
(G A B G)
||: C G/B | Am7 Fadd9 | C Fsus2 C/E Gsus4/D C | C G (G A B G) :||
Chorus 1
||: C G/B | Am7 Fadd9 | C Fsus2 C/E Gsus4/D C | C G (G A B G) :||
No, woman, no cry. No, woman, no cry.
No, woman, no cry. No, woman, no cry.
Verse 1
||: C G/B | Am7 Fadd9 :||
Say, say, said I remember when we used to sit,
in the government yard in Trenchtown.
Oba, oba serving the hypocrites, and they would
mingle with the good people we meet.
Good friends, we had, or good friends we’ve lost,
along the way, yeah.
In this great future, you can’t forget your past,
so dry your tears, I say, and.
Chorus 2
No, woman, no cry. No, woman, no cry, yeah.
Hey little darlin’, don’t shed no tears. No, woman, no cry.
Verse 2
Said, said, said, I remember when we used to sit,
in the government yard in Trenchtown.
And then Georgie would make the fire lights, I say,
a 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,
so I’ve got to push on through, but while I’m gone, I mean.
Middle 8
||: C G/B | Am7 F :||
||: Everything’s gonna be alright, everything’s gonna be alright.
Everything’s gonna be alright, everything’s gonna be alright. :||
Chorus 3
No, woman, no cry. No, no woman, no cry.
Oh my little sister, don’t shed no tears, no, woman, no cry.
Solo
||: C G/B | Am7 Fadd9 | C F C | C G (G A B G) :||
Verse 3
I remember when we used to sit,
in the government yard in Trenchtown.
And then Georgie would make the fire lights, and it was
a 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,
so I’ve got to push on through, but while I’m gone.
Chorus 4
No woman, no, cry. No woman, no cry.
Oh, my little darling. Baby, don’t shed no tears. No woman, no cry, yeah.
(Little darling, don’t shed no tears. No woman, no cry).
(Little sister, don’t shed no tears. No woman, no cry)
End
| C G/B | Am7 Fadd9 | C Fsus2 C/E Gsus4/D C | C G (G A B G) |
| C G/B | Am7 Fadd9 | C Fsus2 C/E Gsus4/D C | C |
No Woman, No Cry Chords: Learn the progressions
The basic chords for Bob Marley‘s No Woman, No Cry are based on a descending movement in the key of C.
First, use chord I (C) – V/3 (G/B) – VI (Am7) – IV (F).
This is followed by a faster movement using chords I (C) – IV (F) – I/3 (C/E) – V/5 (Gsus4/D) – I (C). The pick-up bass line starts on chord V (G A B G).
Here’s the full intro/chorus progression:
||: C (I) G/B (V/3) | Am7 (VI) F (IV) |
| C (I) F (IV) C/E (I/3) Gsus4/D (V/5) C (I) | C G (V) (G A B G) :||
In the chor chart below, I”ve written the bass line as intervals instead (R 2 3 R) of note names (G A B G) since if you change the key, they remain true (text input doesn’t change in the iReal Pro app).
The verse and middle 8 are the same as the first two bars of the chorus:
||: C (I) G/B (V/3) | Am7 (VI) Fadd9 (IV) :||
The solo is a simplified version of the chorus, using less movement:
||: C G/B | Am7 F | C F C | C G (G A B G) :||
Depending on if you play the electric guitar in a band, or the acoustic on your own, No Woman, No Cry’s chords will be different.
On the electric, you want to use small CAGED barre chords and don’t need to play a G/B, the bass plays the B, so any inversion of a G chord will work.
For the acoustic, you definitely need that G/B, and maybe even want to play an Fsus2/C, rather than F.
I’ve designed some TAB, setting you up to play No Woman, No Cry’s chords in the best way, depending on the situation, here’s a link to that part of the lesson: No Woman, No Cry – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you have the concept of the TAB down, a simple chord chart will do, here’s one I made for you.
No Woman, No Cry Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: No Woman, No Cry Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: No Woman, No Cry iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
The live version of No Woman, No Cry is still charting four decades after release!
The famous live version of No, Woman, No Cry is from a compilation album called Legend (1984).
The album has sold an incredible 25 million copies and has stayed on the charts since the day it was released!
Only four albums have stayed on the charts for over 1000 weeks, Queen‘s Greatest Hits, ABBA’s Gold: Greatest Hits, and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac.
Marley’s Legend hasn’t tapped out yet, it’s still there, week after week. At the time of writing, this is almost four decades after its release.
No Woman, No Cry Chords | Related Pages
No Woman, No Cry
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play No Woman, No Cry by Bob Marley using TAB and chord analysis.
| C G/B | Am7 Fadd9 | C Fsus2 C/E Gsus4/D C | C (G A B G) |
No, woman, no cry. No, woman, no cry…
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Hip Hop trio Fugees formed in the ’90s. After releasing a credible debut album, they dropped The Score in 1996 and became world-famous.
Their best tunes include Killing Me Softly, Ready Or Not, Fu-Gee-La, Nappy Heads, and No Woman, No Cry.
Fugees on the web
Bob Marley tunes
Bob Marley was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, guitarist, and activist. Few artists have had such widespread recognition.
As the most widely known performer of reggae music, Bob Marley is also regarded by many as a prophet of the Rastafarian religion.
Bob Marley on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about No Woman No Cry chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
