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: Understanding the Harmonic Movement
The basic chord progression for Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry follows a descending movement in the key of C.
Start with this progression: C (I) – G/B (V/3) – Am7 (VI) – F (IV).
This is followed by a faster movement: C (I) – F (IV) – C/E (I/3) – Gsus4/D (V/5) – C (I). The pick-up bass line begins 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 chord chart below, I’ve used bass intervals (R 2 3 R) instead of specific note names (G A B G). This allows you to change the key easily without altering the intervals (the text input remains the same in the iReal Pro app).
The verse and middle 8 follow the same progression 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 fewer movements:
||: C G/B | Am7 F | C F C | C G (G A B G) :||
Depending on whether you’re playing No Woman, No Cry on electric guitar in a band or on acoustic guitar solo, the chords will differ.
For electric guitar, you’ll use small CAGED barre chords. There’s no need to play the G/B as the bass takes care of the B note, so any G chord inversion will work.
For acoustic, you’ll want to play the G/B and might even consider using Fsus2/C instead of F for a more open sound.
I’ve designed some TAB to help you play No Woman, No Cry’s chords in the most effective way for your setup. Here’s a link to that part of the lesson: No Woman, No Cry – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Once you’ve grasped the TAB, a simple chord chart will be all you need. 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 chord chart iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key.
Four Decades Later: The Unstoppable Legacy of Legend
The famous live version of No Woman, No Cry is featured on the compilation album Legend (1984).
This album has sold an incredible 25 million copies and has remained on the charts since its release!
Only three other 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 continues to endure, still charting week after week. As of writing, this is almost four decades after its release.
No Woman, No Cry Chords | Related Pages
Want to master this song? Check out the full TAB lesson here: No Woman, No Cry (Bob Marley) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Alternatively, here are five similar tunes you might enjoy: