Who can tell me what is the meaning of "Cry me a river" in the daily conversation?
Edi
daily conversation?
As for the phrase (or idiom) "Cry me a river", I think it has at
least two readings as the following:
(1)'you can cry a lot but you will not get my sympathy'
Example: When John complained about how much he had to pay the
waitress, I said, "Cry me a river, guy."
(2)'crocodile tears (false tears, phony sadness)'
Example: Mary's crocodile tears don't fool me. She just wants
sympathy.
I am really curious to know if I would have the suitable interpretation
of "Cry me a river". Hence, if somebody knows the fit meaning of
"Cry me a river" and how it is used in which kinds of contexts,
please share your viewpoint with me.
Thanks a million!
Best,
Edi
izzy
the theme of a song with that title. Here are the lyrics, more or less:
Cry Me a River
Now you say you lonely
You cry the whole night through
Well you can cry me a river,
Cry me a river, I cried a river over you.
Now you say you're sorry
For being so untrue
Well you can cry me a river
Cry me a river, I cried a river over you.
(repeat)
You drove me mad and drove me out of my head
While you never shed a tear
Remember, I remember all that you said,
'Tole me love was true for me an...
tole me you was... you an... me an...
Now you say you loved me
Well, juss ta prove ya do
Go on an
Cry me a river
Cry me a river
I cried a river over you...
ciao,
Israel "izzy" Cohen
Tony Cooper
wrote:
Why is it that people want to make expressions more meaningful than
they are? "Cry me a river" is self-explanatory and needs no
additional meaning.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
--
Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL
CDB
"Tony Cooper" <tony_co...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:g3pt02d0hn3j77i8c...@4ax.com...
On the other hand, "crocodile tears" has a history and could even use
some explaining. Dido accused Aeneas of them, or Nahum Tate did, when
he was really sincerely unhappy about having to be pious.
Thus on the fatal Banks of Nile,
Weeps the deceitful crocodile
Thus hypocrites, that murder act,
Make Heaven and Gods the authors of the Fact.
Also,
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-cro1.htm
Richard R. Hershberger
izzy wrote:
> In some cases, the usage of the phrase "cry me a river" may be based on
> the theme of a song with that title. Here are the lyrics, more or less:
>
<snippage>
Some cases? May be? I will hazard that all cases of this expression
in casual speech are based on the song. It is hardly a construction
likely to occur spontaneously. I will grant, however, that some
unknown percentage of uses are indirect references to the song, with
the user being unaware of the source.
Richard R. Hershberger
Nigel Greenwood
izzy wrote:
> In some cases, the usage of the phrase "cry me a river" may be based on
> the theme of a song with that title. Here are the lyrics, more or less:
> You drove me mad and drove me out of my head
> While you never shed a tear
> Remember, I remember all that you said,
> 'Tole me love was true for me an...
> tole me you was... you an... me an...
No, no, no! You've garbled the most splendid lines in the lyrics:
Told me love was too plebeian
Told me you were through with me an'
Now you say you say love me ...
Nigel
--
ScriptMaster language resources (Chinese/Modern & Classical
Greek/IPA/Persian/Russian/Turkish):
http://www.elgin.free-online.co.uk
Peter Duncanson
<rrh...@acme.com> wrote:
ISTR "cry buckets" predated "cry me a river" (written 1953).
--
Peter Duncanson
UK (posting from a.e.u)