Cry Me a River
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This article is about the original "Cry Me a River".
For the song with the same title by Justin Timberlake see "Cry Me a River" (Justin Timberlake song).
For the short Chinese film of the same title, see Cry Me a River (film).
For the Joyce Carol Oates stage play, see Black (play).

"Cry Me a River" is a popular song. It was written by Arthur Hamilton and was published in 1953. It is about a loss of a relationship.

A torchy, jazzy blues tune, "Cry Me a River" was originally written for Ella Fitzgerald to sing in the film, Pete Kelly's Blues (1955). But the record producer insisted Hamilton remove the word "plebeian" since "audiences wouldn't accept a black woman in the 1950s using that word."^{citation needed}. Hamilton tried but eventually refused to make the change, and the song was dropped. Fitzgerald first released a recording of the song on Clap Hands, Here Comes Charlie! in 1961.

The song's first release and most famous recording was by actress/singer Julie London in 1955. This version featured in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It and was released as a single in April 1957 (UK #22). More recently, the song has featured on the soundtracks of the films Passion of Mind (2000) and V for Vendetta (2005).

In 1963, Barbra Streisand recorded the song for her debut solo album The Barbra Streisand Album [1], which later appeared on the compilation The Essential Barbra Streisand. In 2000, Barbra performed the song on her "Timeless Tour" and a live recording was included on the live album Timeless: Live in Concert, and the accompanying DVD release.

In 1970, British blues rocker Joe Cocker made the chart with a rendition on the album, Mad Dogs and Englishmen. In 1995, British actress Denise Welch's double A-side "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" / "Cry Me a River" spent three weeks in the UK Singles Chart, reaching #23.

Another cover version of the song by Mari Wilson featured as theme music for the British televison series, McCallum (1995–6).

Versions in other languages

• Portuguese - "Chora um Rio" was composed by Artur Nestrovsky and released by Ná Ozzetti and André Mehmari
• French - "Pleurer Des Rivières", translated by Boris Bergman, recorded by Viktor Lazlo in 1985.
• Spanish - "Te Lloré Un Río", recorded by Maná
• Finnish - "Joet tulvimaan itke" was recorded by the Harmony sisters in 1956 with lyrics by Saukki.

Selective list of recorded versions