“Don’t Bother to Cry” was written by Bob Merrill. Eddy Arnold recorded it with his Tennessee Plowboys in 1947, pairing it with one of his early hits.
The song is a heartbreak number with a hard edge. Cast off by a lover, the singer tells her not to bother crying now — the tears come too late to mean anything — turning the language of comfort into a quiet rebuke.
The song carried from early country into the bluegrass repertoire.
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