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


Lyrics submitted by oofus, edited by Rge987, AccessorizedBelt

Let Her Cry Lyrics as written by Dean Felber Darius Rucker

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Let Her Cry song meanings
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83 Comments

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  • +7
    Song Meaning

    Ready for the facts????

    The lyrics tell the story of a patient man in love with a woman who is an irresponsible alcoholic. He keeps trying to save her and salvage the relationship, even as he sees the toll it is taking on him and the probable futility of his attempts to keep it together. Darius Rucker said he wrote the song about one of his own past relationships, but swapped the gender roles - that in real life, he was the irresponsible one and his girlfriend was the long-suffering partner who tried to keep things together.

    Darius Rucker acknowledged that he originally wrote the song as a country song.

    trlove9on September 10, 2010   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    This is the best Hootie song ever.

    SgtPepperLHCBon June 14, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    broken relationships, torn apart by one person's inability to return the feelings

    purrbiscuiton May 03, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I was just at a Hootie concert in May, and Darius introduced this song by telling a story how he and Dean were in a bar, and they heard "She Talks to Angels" and Darius couldn't believe that it was the same Black Crowes who did "Hard To Handle." Later on when he was at home playing video games and listening to Bonnie Raitt--you know how Darius loves Bonnie--he got this idea about rewriting "She Talks to Angels" for Bonnie to sing.

    It was really cool because he was strumming "She Talks to Angels" all the while he was telling the story, and then when he was done he kinda segued into the first chords of "Let Her Cry." I didn't realize what song he was introducing until that minute.

    evangeline83on June 24, 2004   Link
  • +2
    My Interpretation

    I think you people are missing the timeline of the lyrics, and the point of this song. You assume that drugs mentioned are immediately bad and are the smoking gun here but if you just take an extra 2 minutes to look at things as they are presented you find that it isn't the case in the least. News flash, drinking is something adults can do responsibly. And drugs? Hootie is far from a straight edge man, I don't think a little recreational use is going to be a deal breaker for him. I believe It's about his never ending obsession with this woman he loves, and she doesn't feel the same way, at least not yet. Explained in detail below.

    Think of the timeline of the song as watching a movie on rewind. It starts with the present and goes back a little bit in the second verse, and further yet in the third.

    For continuity I'm going to jump to the third verse just to keep the timeline straight. "Last night" he says he tried to leave her. It didn't take long before he realized she really is the girl of his dreams. She goes out back to relax a little with a totally unimportant drug and he gets some alone time to contemplate how crazy he was thinking. He breaks down confused and remorseful.

    The second verse he goes back to "this morning". It could actually be the morning of that day, or just a morning in the blur of days that pass by while he battles with himself. At any rate we can assume it's in the recent past. He wakes up after feeling more attached to her than ever from his actions the "night before" just to find a simple note sitting by the phone telling him it's over. In addition it says there's a chance he could have her again. She comes walking back in the door and he realizes the gravity of the situation. Now he is in some crazy in between situation with a woman that he finally just realized he truly loved. He can't bring himself to just walk away from her so he decides to take his chances with "maybe" He sits down and does what any logical man would do, drink it all away.

    He starts in the present time with the first verse. Looking at her from afar and seeing how things have changed between them now that they are separated, but he still cant pull away. She doesn't open up to him the same way she used to, and he misses that. He is caught in the infamous friend-zone, and takes that attachment because it beats being alone. His only saving grace is sometimes she has a few too many and spills it all. He can't deny his attachment, he just wants to disappear.

    The chorus is repeated so many times because it symbolizes what he tells himself every day but can't bring himself to actually do. He knows it's best for him to just let her be, but at the same time, tomorrow sounds like a great day to start, until tomorrow is upon him, so maybe the day after, and then the day after. Endlessly procrastinating what he knows he has to do because deep down he knows he can't actually bring himself to follow through.

    TheWhiteMustafaon March 12, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    beautiful, beautiful!

    musicalmonkeyon August 17, 2002   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    indeed kwise...we don't give a shit. But i love this song haha...its kind of odd...because i generally like bright eyes...brand new...taking back sunday..the get up kids..the white stripes stuff like that...and i just started listening to this song again...it's ironic..

    jvenrickon November 24, 2004   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    I think it is drug/alcohol related. Somewhere I read Darius wrote this about himself but in reversed roles because of his old alcohol problem that was affecting him and his wife. Anyway the part saying "She never lets me in, only tells me where she's been" to me summed up..you can only help someone and give love to a point but if they are hung up on their past, their habits. I've loved people who were/are addicts, can only reach your hand out so far and if they don't help themselves you have to "let them cry" find themselves and hope god will guide them through their trials.

    AnneA90on August 02, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i agree... i love this song

    stonetemplechickon July 16, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    who gives a fuck where you live? anyway, this song is actually about when Darius couldn't keep a relationship with his college sweetheart.

    gueveraliveson March 08, 2003   Link

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