Cruel Summer
Producers
Cruel Summer Lyrics
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
[Verse 1]
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)
[Pre-Chorus]
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
[Chorus]
And it's new, the shape of your body
It's blue, the feeling I've got
And it's ooh, woah-oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, woah-oh
It's a cruel summer with you
[Verse 2]
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, angels roll their eyes
And if I bleed, you'll be the last to know, oh
[Chorus]
It's new, the shape of your body
It's blue, the feeling I've got
And it's ooh, woah-oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, woah-oh
It's a cruel summer with you
[Bridge]
I'm drunk in the back of the car
And I cried like a baby comin' 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, grinnin' like a devil
It's new, the shape of your body
It's blue, the feeling I've got
And it's ooh, woah-oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, woah-oh
It's a cruel summer with you
[Outro]
I'm drunk in the back of the car
And I cried like a baby comin' 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)
About
“Cruel Summer” narrates the fragility and uncertainty at the beginning of Taylor’s relationship with Joe Alwyn. The two met officially at the Met Gala in May 2016, although she was dating DJ Calvin Harris at the time and started seeing Tom Hiddleston shortly after. The fling between the two likely began soon after, lining up with the summer of 2016. Moreover, Taylor seems to suggest that she secretly fell in love with Joe, who she describes as a “bad boy,” during what was supposed to be a physical relationship.
Swift’s release of Lover comes accompanied with a personal journal, where she describes the summer of 2016 as “the apocalypse,” summarizing how painful it was for her.
Taylor’s vulnerability and the theme of this song is similar to the November 2017 track “Delicate.”
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
This song is one that I wrote about the feeling of a summer romance, and how often times a summer romance can be layered with all these feelings of, like, pining away and sometimes even secrecy. It deals with the idea of being in a relationship where there’s some element of desperation and pain in it, where you’re yearning for something that you don’t quite have yet, it’s just right there, and you just, like, can’t reach it. So, this has some of my favorite lyrics on it, and it was so fun to write this. Jack and Annie [Clark] did the track and a lot of the instrumentation, and I did the topline in whatever language that is. A topline is all the notes and the lyrics you hear. So whatever you would sing, that is what I wrote on this. It was just so fun to write this one and I really love this one. Jack and I like to do ranting bridges. Like in “Out of the Woods” where the bridge is the biggest moment of the song — we revisited that concept.
— Via the iHeartRadio Lover Album Release Party and Secret Session
Yes! The title appeared in the music video for “You Need to Calm Down.” In one scene, Adam Lambert gives Ellen DeGeneres a “Cruel Summer” tattoo:
During the week ending September 7, 2019, “Cruel Summer” peaked at #29 on the Hot 100. Four years after the song’s release, during the tracking week ending October 28, 2023, the song reached the top spot, making it Swift’s 10th song to reach #1. The song also became Swift’s 41st song to appear in the top ten.
During the tracking week ending May 11, 2024, the song had spent a total year on the chart.
During the tracking week ending June 1, 2024, the song left the Hot 100 chart, marking 54 total weeks on the chart.
- 2.Cruel Summer
- 3.Lover
- 4.The Man
- 5.The Archer
- 8.Paper Rings
- 11.London Boy
- 13.False God
- 15.Afterglow
- 16.ME!
- 18.Daylight
