Anuel AA’s new album, Emmanuel, gets off to an unlikely start by opening with a tender love ballad, “No Llores Mujer,” featuring blink-182 drummer Travis Barker. The track is the Puerto Rican artist’s take on Bob Marley & The Wailers‘ 1975 classic, “No Woman, No Cry,” and is dedicated to his girlfriend, reggaeton singer KAROL G.
Barker, who co-produced the song with José Gazmey Santiago, plays drums on “No Llores Mujer.” According to Billboard, Anuel’s manager Frabian Eli joins on violin, while Anuel’s father plays guitar.
To open the track, Anuel reminisces about a night he spent with Karol in Colombia:
Yo me acuerdo cuando te besé
Aquella noche fría en Colombia
Todos los hipócritas envidiándome
Nunca querían verme junto a ti
Amigos que gané (Que gané)
Y amigos que perdí
In English, this translates to:
I remember when I kissed you
That cold night in Colombia
All the hypocrites envy me
They never wanted to see me with you
Friends that I gained (That I gained)
And friends that I lost
This is similar to the first verse of “No Woman, No Cry,” when Marley sings:
‘Cause, 'cause, 'cause I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown
Oba, observing the hypocrites, yeah
Mingle with the good people we meet, yeah
Good friends we have had, oh good friends we’ve lost along the way, yeah
On the “No Llores Mujer” chorus, Anuel and a background vocalist sing:
No llore' mujer
No llores mujer
No, no derrames más lágrimas
No llores mujer (Mujer)
Those lines translate to:
Don’t cry, woman
Don’t cry, woman
No, don’t spill more tears
Don’t cry, woman (Woman)
This is similar to the “No Woman, No Cry” chorus:
No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry, eh, yeah
Little darling don’t shed no tears
No woman, no cry
“No Woman, No Cry” is one of Bob Marley and his band The Wailers' signature songs. It originally appeared on 1974’s Natty Dread, but is best known for a live version that was released as a single from 1975’s Live!
Fugees later released their own version of “No Woman, No Cry” on 1996’s The Score. While it was an international hit, the track didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100 because, at the time, a physical release was a requirement for songs to appear on the chart.
To help English-speaking fans fully understand the song, Genius contributor CG7777 translated all the lyrics from Spanish to English. Check them out below:
[Verse 1: Anuel AA]
I remember when I kissed you
That cold night in Colombia
All the hypocrites envy me
They never wanted to see me with you
Friends that I gained (That I gained)
And friends that I lost
Life is not always going to be happy
My past was so strong, but don’t pity me
And clean off those tears, baby
[Chorus: Anuel AA]
Don’t cry, woman
Don’t cry, woman
No, don’t spill more tears
Don’t cry, woman (Woman)
[Verse 2: Anuel AA]
I remember when I hugged you
And when I proposed to you
And the jealous people started to judge us
And they said that we wouldn’t last
Yeah, yeah, yeah
And in the ice cream (Ice cream), I hid the ring (-ng)
And you almost ate it, yeah
I’m not scared in all this temptation
Because no other like me has been born, uah, uah
[Bridge: Anuel AA]
Don’t worry, everything will calm down
Highs and lows, but we’re okay, yeah-yeah
We continue firmly, everything is gonna be alright
Good and bad, but we’re okay, yeah-yeah
Don’t worry, everything will calm down
Highs and lows, but we’re okay, yeah-yeah
We continue firmly, everything is gonna be alright
Good and bad, but we’re okay
Don’t cry, woman
[Chorus: Anuel AA]
Don’t cry, woman
Don’t cry, woman (Woman)
No, don’t spill more tears
Don’t cry, woman (Woman)
[Outro]
Don’t cry, woman
Don’t cry, woman
No, don’t spill more tears
Don’t cry, woman
Read all the lyrics to Anuel AA’s “No Llores Mujer” and Bob Marley & The Wailers' “No Woman, No Cry” on Genius now.
