Let Her Cry

Album

Cracked Rear View

Label

Atlantic Records

Genre

Country rock

Composer(s)

Mark Bryan;Dean Felber;Darius Rucker;Jim "Soni" Sonefeld

Entered Chart

Mar 11, 1995

Peak Date

Jul 8, 1995

Released

December 1994

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Atlantic 87231

B-Side

"Fine Line"

Let Her Cry" was the follow-up to Hootie & the Blowfish's debut single, "Hold My Hand," and also a big hit. The song is about a man struggling to cope with his alcoholic wife, something covered the same year in the motion picture When A Man Loves A Woman. Frontman Darius Rucker stated in numerous interviews that he wrote the song based on his past, but with the genders reversed - he was the irresponsible drunk whose long-suffering girlfriend tried to keep things together. >> In America, Cracked Rear View stands as the best selling debut album in history. Guns N' Roses held that mark with Appetite For Destruction until 2018, when the RIAA certified Hootie's album at 21 million, besting the 18 million for Appetite. The members of Hootie & the Blowfish all contribute to the songwriting and share the credits, which might be why they've endured since the '80s with the same four members. Jim Sonefeld, the drummer in the band, recalls "Let It Cry" being first recorded with Gary Bolton at Strawberry Skys Studio in West Columbia, South Carolina, for a cassette they put together in 1991. When they signed to Atlantic Records and recorded their debut album, they included the song on the tracklist along with another from that cassette: "Time." Darius Rucker has always had a country soul. As a child, he listened to country music artists like Kenny Rogers. As an adult, he was inspired by Radney Foster's 1992 album, Del Rio, TX 1959, to make his own country album. Though Rucker's first official country single was "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," he considers "Let Her Cry" to be his first country song, and he still performs it in concert today.

She sits alone by a lamp post
Tryin' to find the thought that's escaped her mind
She says, "Dad's the one I love the most
But Stipe's not far behind"

She never lets me in, only tells me where she's been
When she's had too much to drink
I say that I don't care, I just run my hands through her dark hair
Then I pray to God you gotta help me fly away

And just let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, let her be

This morning, I woke up alone, found a note standing by the phone
Sayin', "Maybe, maybe I'll be back someday"
I wanted to look for you
You walked in, I didn't know just what I should do
So I sat back down and had a beer and felt sorry for myself

Sayin' let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain

Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, let her be
No, no, no, no

Let her cry let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be, ah

Last night, I tried to leave, cried so much, I could not believe
She was the same girl I fell in love with long ago
She went in the back to get high
I sat down on my couch and cried, yellin'
"Oh, mama, please help me"
Won't you hold my hand and

Let her cry if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing if it eases all her pain
Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be

Let her cry, if the tears fall down like rain
Let her sing, if it eases all her pain

Let her go, let her walk right out on me
And if the sun comes up tomorrow, let her be
Ah, let her be