She attended Edgbaston C of E College where she gained a GCE pass in music and trained as an actress at the Old Rep Drama School in her home town of Birmingham. Toyah's father ran successful joinery businesses.
She first became well-known during the punk rock era, her appearances in Derek Jarman's 1977 film Jubilee and 1979's Who album-inspired Quadrophenia launching her as a provocative and anti-establishment figure, an image she eventually abandoned.
Fronting a band known as Toyah, her singing career was slow to take off and the band released six singles in the UK before finally hitting the charts in 1981, with "It's A Mystery" and "I Want To Be Free". These singles were also successful on an international level. In 1982, she was voted Best Female Singer at the British Rock and Pop Awards — since restyled as The BRIT Awards, or "BRITs" — and in 1986 she married UK guitarist Robert Fripp. She was one of the first acts to score regularly in the UK Singles Chart with EPs. Also in 1986, Willcox sang lead on the Tony Banks track "Lion of Symmetry". In 1987 she made the top fifty with her version of "Echo Beach".
Since then, she has become a well-known (and more conventional) face on television and in the theatre. She has played straight roles, including in Quatermass (1979) and in Shakespeare plays, and appeared as a presenter of programmes such as Songs of Praise, Holiday (BBC), and Good Sex Guide Late. In 1999, she took the lead in the children's television series, Barmy Aunt Boomerang. She also provides the voiceover for the children's television programmes, the Teletubbies and Brum. More recently, she appeared in the reality television series I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! and I'm Famous and Frightened!.
Following her 2000 autobiography Living Out Loud, Toyah had a further autobiographical book published in 2005 documenting her experience of cosmetic surgery, Diary of a Facelift.
She has appeared on radio including the 2002 BBC Radio 4 series The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
She continues to perform with her band, releasing a live DVD in 2005, and has a busy schedule with theatre commitments, including appearing on stage in London's West End performing the title role of Calamity Jane at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2003.
She is currently appearing in the musical 'Vampire's Rock' in theatres across the UK.
When A Woman Cries
Toyah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When a woman cries
When a woman cries
No-one sees her tears
They just hear lies
When a woman cries
She's always on the make
And her tears falls like money from your hands
Just another woman crash lands in a man's world
When a woman cries
When a woman cries
When a woman cries
No-one sees a person
They just criticise
When a woman cries
No-one feels her pain
Only contempt for pride
And her tears fall like rain on dark streets
Unheard but loud enough to break the peace
When a woman cries
When a woman cries
And her tears fall like rain on dark streets
Unheard but loud enough
And her tears fall like rain on dark streets
Unheard but loud enough to break the peace
Goes to ashes
When a woman cries.
The lyrics to Toyah's song When A Woman Cries are a poignant observation of how women's tears are often misunderstood and dismissed in a society that expects women to be emotionally strong and not show vulnerability. Throughout the song, Toyah talks about the expectations and perceptions that society has of women who cry. The first verse talks about the fact that when women cry, their tears are often seen as a sign of weakness, and they are not listened to or understood. Instead, society sees them as manipulative and greedy. This is reflected in the line, "She's always on the make, what will she take this time."
The second verse is even more powerful as it talks about how women who cry, are often judged and criticized instead of being given the support and empathy they need. Women are supposed to have pride, and crying is considered a weakness, and there is no one to acknowledge or understand the pain that they are going through. The line "no one sees a person, they just criticize," is particularly telling. Women are often judged on their appearance or behavior rather than their feelings and emotions.
The chorus of the song is a reminder that women's tears are as valid as anyone else's, and they should not be ignored. The tears may not be seen, but they are loud enough to break the peace. The final line of the song, "Goes to ashes when a woman cries," is a reference to how society extinguishes the emotions and feelings of women, leaving them with nothing but ashes.
Line by Line Meaning
When a woman cries
The beginning of the repeated message that a woman's tears are often overlooked and misunderstood
When a woman cries
The continuation of the message that a woman's tears are often overlooked and misunderstood
When a woman cries
The repeated statement that a woman's tears are significant and should not be ignored
No-one sees her tears
Women's tears are often dismissed or not noticed by others
They just hear lies
People tend to assume women are lying or exaggerating when they express their emotions through tears
She's always on the make
Society often views women as opportunistic and always looking for something to gain
What will she take this time
The assumption that a woman's tears are a ploy to get something from others
And her tears falls like money from your hands
The imagery of tears being compared to money emphasizes how undervalued and ignored women's emotions are
Just another woman crash lands in a man's world
This line suggests that the root cause of women's pain is a systemic issue of patriarchy and sexism
No-one sees a person
Women are objectified and dehumanized when they cry
They just criticise
People tend to judge and belittle women for showing vulnerability and expressing their feelings through tears
No-one feels her pain
Women's emotions are often invalidated and dismissed, leading to a deep sense of loneliness and isolation
Only contempt for pride
People misunderstand women's tears as a sign of weakness and lack of pride, rather than a genuine expression of hurt
And her tears fall like rain on dark streets
Women's tears are abundant and constant, and they often suffer alone in the shadows
Unheard but loud enough to break the peace
Despite being ignored, women's emotions are powerful and can disrupt the status quo
Goes to ashes
The final line suggests that women's emotions are devalued and destroyed, reinforcing the idea that they are not worthy of attention or respect
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CLAUDE SCHNELL, CRAIG GOLDIE, JIMMY BAIN*, RONNIE JAMES DIO, VINNY APPICE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind