"Cruel Summer" is a song originally by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her album, Lover. Olivia Rodrigo performed a cover of the song on April 22, 2020.
Background[]
Olivia performed the cover on April 22nd, 2020, in an Instagram livestream for MTV's Alone Together Jam Session, and later posted the video on her own Instagram. The post gained the attention of Taylor Swift herself, who re-posted the cover on her Instagram Stories saying: "THE TALENT! Love This!!! Thanks for this beautiful performance."[1]
Olivia is a huge fan of Taylor, and this was their first interaction on social media. She posted series of pics of herself looking overwhelmed with joy to Instagram after the fact, writing, "TAYLOR SWIFT IS THE REASON I WRITE SONGS AND SHE POSTED ME ON HER STORY AND TOLD ME I WAS TALENTED???"
Olivia also continued sharing her excitement on Twitter: "TAYLOR SWIFT POSTED A VIDEO OF ME SINGING CRUEL SUMMER ON HER INSTAGRAM STORY. I WILL NEVER STOP SCREAMING, I AM GONNA FRAME THIS SCREENSHOT AND HANG IT ABOVE MY FIRSTBORN'S CRIB."
Lyrics[]
Fever dream high
In the quiet of the night
You know that I caught it
Bad, bad boy
Shiny toy with a price
You know that I bought 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, whoa oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules, in breakable heaven
But 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
You say that we'll just screw it up in these trying times
We're not trying
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, whoa oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules, in breakable heaven
But 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 screamed 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, whoa oh
It's a cruel summer
It's cool, that's what I tell 'em
No rules, in breakable heaven
But 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 screamed for whatever it's worth
"I love you, " ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)