“He sang as if he knew me, In all my dark despair, And then he looked right through me, As if I wasn't there”
song ~ “Killing Me Softly With His Song”
artist ~ Roberta Flack
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
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
I heard he sang a good song
I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him
To listen for a while
And there he was this young boy
A stranger to my eyes
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
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
I felt all flushed with fever
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters
And read each one out loud
I prayed that he would finish
But he just kept right on
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
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
He sang as if he knew me
In all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me
As if I wasn't there
And he just kept on singing
Singing clear and strong
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
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
Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me
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 (Image source)
Comments
While this 1973 song was originally recorded by another artist, it is commonly recognized as a Roberta Flack tune. (A later generation, however, might believe that it's a Fugees song, as that band covered it in 1996.)
A True Story
There has been plenty of controversy over the origins of this song.
Subsequently, the songwriting team of Norman Gimbel and Charles Fox used her poem to compose this song, which Lieberman then recorded.
Or A Fictional Story
Another version of the story holds that Gimbel and Fox wrote this song based on their own notes and resources, and when Lieberman first heard it, she said that it reminded her of Don McLean and his music.
A Stranger Strumming
After close to 5 decades, the controversy trickles on. We do not know who or what inspired the song. Nor do we know which came first, the singer or the song.
All we know is that the mysterious young man strumming and singing the painful sounds – be he actual or fictional – has been forever immortalized. And even if the account of McLean’s stirring performance is not true, it’s still a great little story.
With its enigmatic characters, its smooth rhythm and motion, this song became a major hit when it was released, and has since become a classic. (Image source)
Roberta Flack – "Killing Me Softly With His Song" (Right-click to hear on YouTube)
Lyrics by Charles Fox, Norman Gimbel, courtesy of – AZLyrics.com
References – Wikipedia
References – Voyager-3
References – Telegraph.co.uk
To hear Don McLean – the alleged “Young boy, A stranger to my eyes, Strumming my pain with his fingers” – performing “Empty Chair,” click the link below.
Don McLean – "Empty Chair" (Right-click to hear on YouTube)
A Compilation of My Previous – Lyrics Posts 3~30
This is my entry in the 60-Day Lyrics Challenge.
Click here to learn about @SteemitCentral’s – Lyrics Challenge.