Lyrics of
Cruel Summer

Cruel Summer, written by Taylor Swift, St. Vincent, and Jack Antonoff, is a track from Taylor Swifts album Lover, released in 2019. The songs lyrics reflect an intense, tumultuous love, weaving a narrative about passion, secrets, and Swifts emotional state during a specific summer, suggesting a connection with her relationship with actor Joe Alwyn.

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night
You know that I caught it (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)
Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price
You know that I bought it (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)

Killing me slow, out the window
I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more

And it’s new, the shape of your body
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
And it’s ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
It’s a cruel summer
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
It’s a cruel summer, with you

Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine
I’m not dying (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)
We say that we’ll just screw it up in these trying times
We’re not trying (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)

So cut the headlights, summer’s a knife
I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone
Devils roll the dice (dice), angels roll their eyes (eyes)
And if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know

Oh it’s new, the shape of your body
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
And it’s ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
It’s a cruel summer
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
It’s a cruel summer, with you

I’m drunk in the back of the car
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)
Said "I’m fine", but it wasn’t true
I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you
And I snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
And I scream "For whatever it’s worth
I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?"
He looks up, grinning like a devil

It’s new, the shape of your body
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
And it’s ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
It’s a cruel summer
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
It’s a cruel summer, with you

I’m drunk in the back of the car
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)
Said "I’m fine", but it wasn’t true
I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you
And I snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
And I scream "For whatever it’s worth
I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?"
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)