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.
Key: C
Introduction:
G
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
C
D
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night
Bm
Em
You know that I caught it (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)
C
D
Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price
Bm
Em
You know that I bought it (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)
C
D
Killing me slow, out the window
Bm
Em
I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below
C
Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes
D
What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more
G
And it’s new, the shape of your body
Bm
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
Em
And it’s ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
C
It’s a cruel summer
G
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
Bm
No rules in breakable heaven
Em
But ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
C
G
It’s a cruel summer, with you
C
D
Bm
Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine
Em
I’m not dying (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)
C
D
Bm
We say that we’ll just screw it up in these trying times
Em
We’re not trying (oh yeah, you’re right, I want it)
C
D
So cut the headlights, summer’s a knife
Bm
Em
I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone
C
Devils roll the dice (dice), angels roll their eyes (eyes)
D
And if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know
G
Oh it’s new, the shape of your body
Bm
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
Em
And it’s ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
C
It’s a cruel summer
G
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
Bm
No rules in breakable heaven
Em
But ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
C
(
G
) It’s a cruel summer, with you
G
I’m drunk in the back of the car
Bm
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)
Em
Said "I’m fine", but it wasn’t true
C
I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you
G
And I snuck in through the garden gate
Bm
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
Em
And I scream "For whatever it’s worth
C
I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?" He looks up, grinning like a devil
G
It’s new, the shape of your body
Bm
It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got
Em
And it’s ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
C
It’s a cruel summer
G
It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em
Bm
No rules in breakable heaven
Em
But ooh-ooh ooh whoa-oh
C
(
G
) It’s a cruel summer, with you
G
I’m drunk in the back of the car
Bm
And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (oh)
Em
Said "I’m fine", but it wasn’t true
C
I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you
G
And I snuck in through the garden gate
Bm
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
Em
And I scream "For whatever it’s worth
C
G
I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?" (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)