Cruel Summer

Album

Lover

Label

Republic Records

Genre

Synthpop

Media Type

AC

Duration

2:58

Composer(s)

Taylor Swift;Jack Antonoff;Annie Clark

Entered Chart

Sep 7, 2019

Peak Date

Nov 4, 2023

Released

June 20, 2023

Recorded

Electric Lady (New York City)Conway Recording (Los Angeles)

Catalog #

Republic

"Cruel Summer" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her seventh studio album, Lover (2019). Swift and Jack Antonoff produced the song, and they wrote it with St. Vincent. "Cruel Summer" is an electropop, synth-pop, bubblegum pop, and industrial pop song composed of synths, wobbling beats, and vocoder-manipulated vocals. The lyrics are about an intense and painful summer romance. Initial reviews of Lover lauded "Cruel Summer" for its melodic composition and catchy sound, specifically highlighting the hook and bridge; many deemed it a highlight on the album. Retrospective reviews have considered "Cruel Summer" one of Swift's best songs, and it was placed on the 2024 revision of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Cruel Summer" debuted in the top 30 of various singles charts in 2019 and became a fan favorite over time, prompting fans and publications to question why Swift did not release the track as a single. After being included in the set list of Swift's sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour, in 2023, "Cruel Summer" became viral on social media, leading Republic Records to release it as a single on June 20, 2023. In the United States, the single peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and helped Swift become the solo artist with the most number-one songs on the Pop Airplay and Adult Pop Airplay radio charts. It also topped the Billboard Global 200 and the singles charts in Australia, Canada, the Philippines, and Singapore. The song has been certified diamond in France, and multi-platinum in Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

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-oh-oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh, oh-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, angels roll their 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-oh-oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh-oh-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-oh-oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules in breakable heaven
But ooh-oh-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)