Cry Me A River
John Martyn Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Now you say you love me
But you cry the whole night through
You can cry me a river
Oh yes you're going to cry me a river
I cried a river over you.

Now you say you're sorry for being so untrue
You cry me a river
You may cry a river
I cried a river over you
Yes I did child, yes I did my child.

You drove me nearly out of my head
You stood by and never shed a tear
I remember every word that was said
Oh yes, I remember, never fear.

You may cry me a river, c'mon now
Cry me a river
You cry me a river
I cried a river for you oh how I cried.

You nearly drove me out of my own sweet head
You stood by, you never shed a tear for me.
I remember every cruel word, everything that was said
Yes I remember, never you fear.

You cry me a river
I cried a river for you
I cried a river of tears for you.
Yes, I cried a river of tears for you.

Turn back the tide of life, I cried, salty water running down
I cried I love you
I cried I love you
I cried, I cried.

You may cry, oh, she may cry now, a river of tears
A river of tears for you
You may cry now, she may cry, oh, she may cry now
You may cry, oh, she may cry now a river of tears
A river of tears for you.

I cry you can cry me a river
Lord loves a cheerful giver
C'mon and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now and cry me a river of tears




C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
C'mon now, c'mon down and cry me a river.

Overall Meaning

In this song, John Martyn talks about a relationship that has gone sour. The other person in the relationship tells him that they love him, but cry throughout the night. He asks them to cry him a river and continues to say that he cried a river for them before. They then say that they are sorry for being untrue and cry again. He tells them that they nearly drove him crazy without shedding a tear and that he remembers everything that was said. He doesn't seem to believe the other person's tears this time and says that he cried a river of tears for them before. He then says, "I cried I love you" and repeats "cry me a river of tears" multiple times.


The lyrics of the song are quite easy to follow and are very relatable to anyone who has been in a relationship that has gone bad. The phrase "cry me a river" is an interesting one as it means to cry for someone or to cry profusely. The phrase has been used in many songs, including Justin Timberlake's breakout hit.


Line by Line Meaning

Now you say you love me
You claim you love me now


But you cry the whole night through
However, you cry throughout the night


You can cry me a river
Your crying won't make a difference to me


Oh yes you're going to cry me a river
Inevitably, you'll cry a lot for me


I cried a river over you.
I shed a lot of tears over you


Now you say you're sorry for being so untrue
You apologize for your unfaithfulness


You cry me a river
You demonstrate your remorse with your tears


You may cry a river
You can cry as much as you want


I cried a river over you
I was very upset because of you


Yes I did child, yes I did my child.
I did cry a lot for you, my dear.


You drove me nearly out of my head
Your actions were almost too much for me to handle


You stood by and never shed a tear
You were indifferent to my pain


I remember every word that was said
I recall every hurtful thing you said


Oh yes, I remember, never fear.
Don't worry, I haven't forgotten.


You may cry me a river, c'mon now
You can cry as much as you want now


I cried a river over you
I cried a lot because of you


I cried a river for you oh how I cried.
My tears were because of you, and there were many


You nearly drove me out of my own sweet head
You almost made me lose my mind


You stood by, you never shed a tear for me.
You were unsympathetic to my pain


You cry me a river
You express your feelings with your tears


I cried a river for you
I was very upset because of you


I cried a river of tears for you.
I shed a lot of tears because of you


Yes, I cried a river of tears for you.
I was very emotional because of you


Turn back the tide of life, I cried, salty water running down
I pleaded for a change in our situation, crying profusely


I cried I love you
I expressed my love through my tears


You may cry now, she may cry, oh, she may cry now
You or she can cry now


A river of tears for you
A lot of tears for you


I cry you can cry me a river
I'm unbothered by your tears


Lord loves a cheerful giver
God loves those who give joyfully


C'mon and cry me a river of tears
Feel free to cry a lot because of me


C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
Go ahead and cry a lot for me


C'mon now and cry me a river of tears
I want you to cry a lot for me


C'mon now, c'mon down and cry me a river.
Please cry a lot for me.




Contributed by Colton O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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