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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  • +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

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