Sheku’s Take on No Woman, No Cry

Advanced Cellists, Baroque, Folk Music, Intermediate Cellists, Online Purchase, Pop Music
First published on Mar 15, 2026 by Seb
Last updated on Mar 15, 2026 by Seb

Sheku Kanneh-Mason‘s arrangement of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” is a perfect example of the vision we advocate for here at Project BachWroteWhat. Sheku transformed a reggae classic by the reggae legend into a Baroque self-accompanied cello piece. He then performed it with great technique and expression, channeling Marley and breathing reggae soul back into the music. This was released on his debut album Inspiration in 2018, when he was just 19.

The title of this music actually means “Woman, don’t cry”, or “No woman, nuh cry” in Jamaican Patois. The lyrics make this pretty clear. The singer reassures a woman that “Everything’s gonna be alright”, despite present poverty and hardship. Here is Marley’s 1974 release.

Sheet music for Sheku’s arrangement is one of 14 cello pieces included in the first cello sheet music collection he released: The Sheku Kanneh-Mason Cello Collection. It’s widely available, including at Southwest Strings and at Presto Music. In this collection you’ll find 6 self-accompanied pieces. The rest are cello/piano arrangements.

Here is a studio recording of this arrangement.

The last one is a version recorded at NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.