De openingstrack van Nick Lowe’s tweede solo-album, Labour of Lust. Lowe schreef de song samen met Ian Gomm, zijn maatje uit Brinsley Schwartz. De titel is een verwijzing naar Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “I must be cruel only to be kind/Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind”. De muzikale begeleiding wordt verzorgd door Rockpile, de band van Lowe’s andere maatje, Dave Edmunds.
Oh, I can’t take another heartache
Though you say you’re my friend
I’m at my wits’ end
You say your love is bona fide
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’ve 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’ve gotta be cruel to be kind
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
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’ve gotta be cruel to be kind
(Cruel to be kind) Oh, in the right measure
(Cruel to be kind) Yeah, 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’ve 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’ve 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
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By Source, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48255511
