Killing Me Softly
Flack Roberta Lyrics

Strumming my pain with his fingers
He was playing the chords that were connected to my emotions, causing my pain to resurface

Singing my life with his words
He was using his voice to express the experiences that I have lived through

Killing me softly with his song
The combination of his music and lyrics was affecting me in a profound and emotional manner

Telling my whole life with his words
He was narrating my entire life story through his lyrics, as if he knew me intimately

I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style
I had heard of his reputation as a musician with his unique manner of expression

And so I came to see him to listen for a while
I made a conscious effort to attend his performance in order to hear his music

And there he was this young boy, a stranger to my eyes
The performer was a young man whom I did not know personally

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd
I felt embarrassed by how emotional I was getting in public, surrounded by people

I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud
I felt as though he had discovered my private letters and was reading them aloud to the audience

I prayed that he would finish but he just kept right on
I hoped that he would finish his performance soon, but he was so compelling that he continued singing

He sang as if he knew me in all my dark despair
He sang with such understanding about my moments of deepest hopelessness that it felt like he knew me completely

And then he looked right through me as if I wasn't there
Although his music was speaking to my deepest emotions, he did not acknowledge my presence in the crowd

And he just kept on singing, singing clear and strong
He continued singing without any hesitation, his voice clear and powerful

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh La, la, la, la, la, la, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, la La
Repetition of sounds in the form of 'oh' and 'la' to express the strong emotions stirred within

He was strumming my pain Yeah, he was singing my life Killing me softly with his song Killing me softly with his song Telling my whole life with his words Killing me softly with his song
Summing up the emotional impact of the performer's music and lyrics in a repetitive refrain