• Track: Cruel to Be Kind
• Artist: Nick Lowe
• Album: Cruel to Be Kind / Endless Grey Ribbon single
• Year: 1979

Lyrics:

Oh, I can’t take another heartache
Though you say you’re my friend, I’m at my wit’s end
You say your love is bonafide, but that don’t coincide
With the things that you do
And when I ask you to be nice, you say

You’ve gotta be cruel to be kind, in the right measure
Cruel to be kind, it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind, means that I love you, baby
(You’ve gotta be cruel)
You gotta be cruel to be kind

Well I do my best to understand dear
But you still mystify and I want to know why
I pick myself up off the ground
To have you knock me back down, again and again
And when I ask you to explain, you say

You’ve gotta be cruel to be kind, in the right measure
Cruel to be kind, it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind, means that I love you, baby
(You’ve gotta be cruel)
You gotta be cruel to be kind

Well I do my best to understand dear
But you still mystify and I want to know why
I pick myself up off the ground
To have you knock me back down, again and again
And when I ask you to explain, you say

You’ve gotta be cruel to be kind, in the right measure
Cruel to be kind, it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind, means that I love you baby
(You’ve gotta be cruel)
You gotta be cruel to be kind

(Cruel to be kind), oh in the right measure
(Cruel to be kind), it’s a very very very good sign
(Cruel to be kind), it means that I love you, baby
(You’ve gotta be cruel)
You gotta be cruel to be kind

(Cruel to be kind), oh in the right measure
(Cruel to be kind), yes it’s a very very very good sign
(Cruel to be kind), it means that I love you, baby
(You’ve gotta be cruel)
You gotta be cruel to be kind

(Cruel to be kind), oh in the right measure
(Cruel to be kind), yes it’s a very very very good sign

Get It:

If you’re going to buy just one Nick Lowe album, the one to get is Quiet Please: The New Best of Nick Lowe:

Today’s song comes from British singer/songwriter Nick Lowe. Cruel to Be Kind was Lowe’s biggest hit, though he continued releasing critically acclaimed albums into the early 2000s, and has recently released a Christmas album. He still tours at the age of 66. For a short time, Lowe was a member of Rockpile along with Dave Edmunds. He produced Elvis Costello’s first five albums and has been at the soundboard for a number of other artists, including Paul Carrack (of Ace and Mike & The Mechanics fame), Wreckless Eric, Johnny Cash, John Hiatt, and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

Cruel to Be Kind reminds me of summer, riding my bike with baseball cards in the spokes, and Kool-Aid. Its infectious melody is impossible to resist. I’ll resist the urge to shed my shirt, air up the tires on my bike, and go for a ride—but only because it’s cold.

And I look bad without a shirt.

Video:

In 1983, Lowe appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and performed Cruel to Be Kind and Raging Eyes:

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