The Man Who Couldn't Cry
Loudon Wainwright III Lyrics


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There once was a man who just couldn't cry
He hadn't cried for years and for years
Napalmed babies and the movie love story
For instance could not produce tears
As a child he had cried as all children will
Then at some point his tear ducts ran dry
He grew to be a man, the feces hit the fan
Things got bad, but he couldn't cry

His dog was run over, his wife up and left him
And after that he got sacked from his job
Lost his arm in the war, was laughed at by a whore
Ah, but sill not a sniffle or sob

His novel was refused, his movie was panned
And his big Broadway show was a flop

He got sent off to jail; you guessed it, no bail
Oh, but still not a dribble or drop

In jail he was beaten, bullied and buggered
And made to make license plates
Water and bread was all he was fed
But not once did a tear stain his face

Doctors were called in, scientists, too
Theologians were last and practically least

They all agreed sure enough; this was sure no cream puff
But in fact an insensitive beast

He was removed from jail and placed in a place
For the insensitive and the insane
He played lots of chess and made lots of friends
And he wept every time it would rain

Once it rained forty days and it rained forty nights
And he cried and he cried and he cried and he cried

On the forty-first day, he passed away
He just dehydrated and died

Well, he went up to heaven, located his dog
Not only that, but he rejoined his arm
Down below, all the critics, they loot it all back
Cancer robbed the whore of her charm

His ex-wife died of stretch marks, his ex-employer went broke
The theologians were finally found out





Right down to the ground, that old jail house burned down
The earth suffered perpetual drought

Overall Meaning

The song "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" by Loudon Wainwright III tells the story of a man who appears to be emotionally numb, unable to express his emotions through tears even in the most devastating moments. The song shares the different struggles the man faced, such as the loss of his wife, his dog, his job, his arm, being bullied and even serving time in jail. Despite all these moments, he couldn't cry a single tear. The song is a commentary on how we understand and perceive emotions, especially in men, as suppressing emotions is often seen as a sign of strength, and expressing emotions as a sign of weakness.


The song moves towards an eventual realization that the man had been emotionally affected all along, only that he wasn't showing it. In prison, he meets other inmates who share their stories, play chess, and cry when it rains. It's only on the forty-first day of rain that the man finally lets out his tears and cries until he dies of dehydration. The song suggests that crying is necessary for emotional health and that suppressing emotions is not a sign of strength.


Overall, "The Man Who Couldn't Cry" is a melancholic tune that explores the importance of showing emotions, as hiding them can be destructive to oneself. It is a reminder to be more open about our feelings and to show empathy towards others who may be going through difficult times.


Line by Line Meaning

There once was a man who just couldn't cry
The singer of the song was unable to cry throughout his life.


He hadn't cried for years and for years
The man had not shed a tear for a long time.


Napalmed babies and the movie love story
Even horrible images such as burnt babies and tear-jerking movies failed to make him cry.


For instance could not produce tears
Those images were incapable of bringing tears to his eyes.


As a child he had cried as all children will
In his childhood, he had cried like any other child.


Then at some point his tear ducts ran dry
As he grew up, he lost the ability to produce tears.


He grew to be a man, the feces hit the fan
As an adult, he suffered immensely.


Things got bad, but he couldn't cry
Despite everything, he couldn't cry and express his emotions.


His dog was run over, his wife up and left him
He faced several hardships including the death of his dog and divorce from his wife.


And after that he got sacked from his job
In addition to that, he lost his job.


Lost his arm in the war, was laughed at by a whore
He lost his arm while serving in the war and was mocked by a sex worker.


Ah, but sill not a sniffle or sob
Despite everything, he was unable to cry.


His novel was refused, his movie was panned
His creative ventures were also unsuccessful.


And his big Broadway show was a flop
Even his Broadway production failed to garner the audience's approval.


He got sent off to jail; you guessed it, no bail
He landed in prison without any hope of getting bail.


Oh, but still not a dribble or drop
Despite being in jail, he wasn't able to cry.


In jail he was beaten, bullied and buggered
He was subjected to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse in prison.


And made to make license plates
In prison, his job was to make license plates.


Water and bread was all he was fed
His meals in prison were limited to water and bread only.


But not once did a tear stain his face
Despite being in such an awful state, he was still unable to cry.


Doctors were called in, scientists, too
Experts were summoned to examine him.


Theologians were last and practically least
Theologians were consulted as a last resort.


They all agreed sure enough; this was sure no cream puff
All the experts unanimously declared that he was emotionally insensitive.


But in fact an insensitive beast
He was characterized as an insensitive person.


He was removed from jail and placed in a place
He was later shifted to a facility meant for the emotionally and mentally unstable.


For the insensitive and the insane
The facility was meant for those who were emotionally insensitive or mentally unstable.


He played lots of chess and made lots of friends
In the facility, he made friends and played lots of chess.


And he wept every time it would rain
However, he was able to cry when it rained.


Once it rained forty days and it rained forty nights
On an occasion, it rained consistently for forty days and nights.


And he cried and he cried and he cried and he cried
During this time, he cried continuously.


On the forty-first day, he passed away
He died on the forty-first day of uninterrupted rain.


He just dehydrated and died
He died due to dehydration caused by continuous crying.


Well, he went up to heaven, located his dog
After death, he went to heaven and reunited with his dog.


Not only that, but he rejoined his arm
In heaven, he had his arm back.


Down below, all the critics, they loot it all back
On earth, all his critics faced their own misfortunes.


Cancer robbed the whore of her charm
The sex worker was afflicted with cancer.


His ex-wife died of stretch marks, his ex-employer went broke
His ex-wife passed away after suffering from stretch marks, and his ex-employer went bankrupt.


The theologians were finally found out
Even the theologians were exposed for their mistakes.


Right down to the ground, that old jail house burned down
The prison where he was held burned down to the ground.


The earth suffered perpetual drought
An eternal drought plagued the earth.




Lyrics © Spirit Music Group
Written by: LOUDON WAINWRIGHT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Harvey Jones

There once was a man and he couldn't cry
He hadn't cried for years and for years
Napalmed babies, the movie love story
For instance could not produce tears
As a child he had cried as all children will
Then at some point his tear ducts all ran dry
Grew to be a man, it all hit the fan
Things got bad, but he couldn't cry
His dog got ran over, his wife up and left him
After that he got sacked from his job
Lost his arm in the war, was left at by a whore
Ah, but sill not a sniffle or sob
Well, his novel was refused, and his movie was panned
His big Broadway show was a flop
He got sent off to jail, you guessed it, no bail
Oh, but still not a dribble or drop
In jail he was beaten, bullied and buggered
And made to make license plates
Water and bread was all he was fed
Not once did a tear stain his face
Doctors were called in, scientists, too
Theologians were last and practically least
They all agreed sure enough; this is no cream puff
Oh, but in fact an insensitive beast
He was taken from jail and placed in a place
For the insensitive and the insane
He made lot of friends and he played lot of chess
And he cried every time it would rain
Once it rained forty days and it rained forty nights
And he cried, and he cried, and he cried, and he cried
On the forty-first day he passed away
He just dehydrated and died
He went up to heaven, located his dog
After that, he rejoined his arm
Below all the critics, they took it all back
Cancer robbed the whore of her charm
His ex-wife died of stretch marks
His ex-employer went broke
The theologians were finally found out
Right down to the ground
The jail house burned down
And the earth suffered perpetual drought
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Wainwright Loudon S



All comments from YouTube:

Paul DP

every goddamn time... tears win.... I try.. I tell myself when it starts don't let those tears start... this is one of the best by Loudon. Right up there with nocturnal stumblebutt.. 💖🎵

Randy Squires

Quit blaspheming my LORD & you could dry your little eyes, buster. Cuz when you kneel before HIM, it'll come up.... unless you repent, turn & be saved. Jesus paid your blasphemous crimes/sins just like HE did mine! Now, go ahead & let 'em rip!

Thomas Smart

Love the weird fact the delivery is so melodic and melancholy but the lyrics are funny, Cash' version is serious, sad and funny too . I had never heard this before JC version but I love it

Praktijk Colinda den Haan

This is one of my favorites songs. There is so much happening and to hear and feel in this lyrics. Such a beautiful message about living and not being understood... I always have to cry at the end ..Finally victorie, so it are happy tears. What a special song.

Tearloch

The original IS the original .. all else pale to the true intent of the sing .. at least to me .. Loudon's brilliance at dealing with his own self-doubt and ultimate forgiveness of self were so refreshing back in the day ..  today's culture deserves we preserve and nurture this message from the past .. "Loudy' is an American treasure that many North of the Border cherish too .. RIP Kate ..

Sean Whaley

I have a copy of this album. One of the greatest songs ever written by anyone. His performance is for the ages.

Anthony Norton

I heard this song for the first time a few months ago, thanks to Spotify. I absolutely love the name of the album..... Attempted Mustache.

l1zrd

I always thought I was decently versed in music but somehow, until this year I had never heard anything by Loudon. I feel like I was robbed of years of wonderful music. Either way this is great, and I can't stop listening to his catalog.

nighthawk twoninetwo

The first time I saw him was on Saturday Night Live (It was known as NBC Saturday Night back then). He performed Bicentennial. And I believe Talking Big Apple 75. But he actually appeared on an early episode of MASH from 1972-73. The one where the nurses were gone. Anyway the songs he sang on SNL were from the album T-Shirt on Arista which he said he hated but I thought was ok especially "Summer's Almost Over".

Wolfgang Mueller

.... but the lyrics give the power, depth and brilliance to this song, if you agree. Laudon's "Man Who Couldn't Cry" is an original folk-song sample of the Post-Newport-Acoustic-Dylan-Community-Area in the 70ies and fits perfectly to cash's American Recordings area. Of course my intention for this upload was to document essentially along the background of DJ Shadows "Endtroducing".

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