No Woman, No Cry

• By: Bob Marley & The Wailers

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
woman /ˈwʊmən/ A1	noun - an adult female human being
cry /kraɪ/ A1	verb - to shed tears, typically as an expression of distress, pain, or sorrow. noun - an instance of crying
remember /rɪˈmembər/ A2	verb - to have in your memory again
sit /sɪt/ A1	verb - to rest on your bottom with your back upright
government /ˈɡʌvərnmənt/ B1	noun - the group of people who control and organize a country or state
yard /jɑːrd/ A2	noun - an area of ground next to a building or house
hypocrites /ˈhɪpəkrɪts/ C1	noun - people who pretend to have qualities, beliefs, or feelings that they do not actually have
mingle /ˈmɪŋɡəl/ B2	verb - to move around and talk to other people at a social event
good /ɡʊd/ A1	adjective - of high quality
friends /frendz/ A1	noun - people who you like and enjoy being with
lost /lɔːst/ A2	verb - past tense of lose (to no longer have something)
future /ˈfjuːtʃər/ B1	noun - a time that is to come
past /pæst/ B1	noun - the time before the present
tears /tɪrz/ A2	noun - drops of salty liquid that flow from your eyes when you cry
fire /ˈfaɪər/ A1	noun - the state of burning that produces heat and light
lights /laɪts/ A1	noun - a source of illumination
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period from sunset to sunrise in each twenty-four hours
cook /kʊk/ A1	verb - prepare food by heating it
gone /ɡɔːn/ A2	adjective - no longer present; departed.
alright /ɔːlˈraɪt/ A2	adjective - satisfactory or acceptable
sister /ˈsɪstər/ A1	noun - a female sibling

Grammar:

• NO, WOMAN, NO CRY

  ➔ Imperative mood with negation

  ➔ The phrase uses the imperative mood to tell the woman "not to cry". "No" functions as a negative marker.

• YOU SEE I REMEMBER WHEN WE USED TO SIT

  ➔ "Used to" for past habits/states

  ➔ "Used to sit" indicates a past habit or a repeated action in the past that is no longer true in the present. It describes the action of sitting frequently in the past.

• IN THIS GREAT FUTURE, YOU CAN'T FORGET YOUR PAST

  ➔ Modal verb of prohibition ("can't")

  ➔ "Can't forget" expresses a strong prohibition or a necessity not to do something. Here, it means it's crucial to remember your past even in a bright future.

• AS IT WAS LOG WOOD BURNIN' THROUGH THE NIGHT, YEAH

  ➔ Ellipsis (omission of 'was')

  ➔ The phrase "burnin'" is a shortened form of "burning", and the word 'was' has been omitted for a more colloquial sound. The full form would be "as it was log wood burning through the night".

• MY FEET IS MY ONLY CARRIAGE

  ➔ Subject-verb agreement error (non-standard English)

  ➔ This line demonstrates a subject-verb agreement error. The subject "my feet" is plural, but the verb "is" is singular. The grammatically correct form would be "My feet are my only carriage". This is likely intentional for stylistic effect or to reflect dialect.

• EVERYTHING'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT

  ➔ Future with "gonna"

  ➔ "Gonna" is a colloquial contraction of "going to", used to express the future tense. "Everything's gonna be alright" is a simplified, informal way of saying "Everything is going to be alright."

• OH NO NO, DON'T SHED NO TEARS

  ➔ Double negative (non-standard English)

  ➔ This line uses a double negative: "don't shed no tears." In standard English, this would be "don't shed any tears" or "shed no tears." The use of a double negative is common in some dialects.