Cruel Summer – English Lyrics

• By: Ace of Base
• Album: Cruel Summer

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning as I sit around

Trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry

...

Strange voices are saying (ah, what did they say?)

Things I can't understand

It's too close for comfort, this heat has got right out of hand

It's a cruel (cruel), cruel summer

Leaving me here on my own

It's a cruel (it's a cruel), cruel summer

Now you're gone you're not the only one, it's a cruel

...

The city is crowded, my friends are away, and I'm on my own

It's too hot to handle, so I've gotta get up and go

As in go home

It's a cruel (cruel), cruel summer

Leaving me here on my own

It's a cruel (it's a cruel), cruel summer

Now you're gone, you're not the only one

It's a cruel (cruel), cruel summer (leaving me)

Leaving me here on my own

It's a cruel (it's a cruel), cruel summer

Now you're gone, you're not the only one

It's a cruel

...

Hmm, now don't you leave me

Hmm, now don't you leave me

Now don't you leave me come on, come on

Hmm, now don't you leave me

Hmm, now don't you leave me

Now don't you leave me come on, come on

It's a cruel (cruel), cruel summer (cruel summer)

Leaving me here on my own (leaving me here all alone)

It's a cruel (it's a cruel), cruel summer (leave me here in this summer)

You're not the only one (you're not the only one)

It's a cruel (cruel), cruel summer (you're not the only one)

Leaving me here on my own (ooh-ooh)

It's a cruel (it's a cruel), cruel summer (cruel summer)

Now you're gone, you're not the only one

It's a cruel (cruel), cruel summer (cruel summer)

It's a cruel summer

It's a cruel, cruel summer (cruel summer)

It's a cruel summer

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
summer /ˈsʌmər/ A1	noun - the warmest season of the year
cruel /ˈkruːəl/ A2	adjective - causing pain or suffering
hot /hɒt/ A1	adjective - having a high temperature
burn /bɜːrn/ A2	verb - to be damaged by heat or fire
heavy /ˈhɛvi/ A1	adjective - of great weight
dry /draɪ/ A1	adjective - free from moisture
strange /streɪndʒ/ A2	adjective - unusual or unexpected
understand /ˌʌndərˈstænd/ A1	verb - to comprehend or grasp
comfort /ˈkʌmfərt/ A2	noun - a state of physical ease
handle /ˈhændl/ A2	verb - to manage or deal with
crowd /kraʊd/ A2	noun - a large group of people
leave /liːv/ A1	verb - to go away from
alone /əˈloʊn/ A1	adjective - without others
pavement /ˈpeɪvmənt/ B1	noun - a hard surface for walking on
voice /vɔɪs/ A1	noun - the sound produced by someone speaking

Key Grammar Structures

• Hot summer streets and the pavements are burning as I sit around

  ➔ Present Continuous (are burning, am sitting)

  ➔ Uses of the **present continuous** tense to describe actions happening at the moment of speaking or around now. 'Are burning' describes the state of the streets, and 'am sitting' describes the action of the speaker.

• Trying to smile but the air is so heavy and dry

  ➔ Gerund (Trying to smile), Adjective (heavy, dry)

  ➔ **Gerund**: 'Trying to smile' functions as a noun (the action of trying). **Adjectives**: 'heavy' and 'dry' describe the state of the air.

• Strange voices are saying (ah, what did they say?)

  ➔ Present Continuous (are saying), Reported Speech ('what did they say?')

  ➔ The **present continuous** is used for an action in progress. 'What did they say?' is **reported speech**, indirectly quoting what was said. The question uses past tense as a result.

• It's too close for comfort, this heat has got right out of hand

  ➔ Adjective (close), Prepositional Phrase (for comfort), Perfect Tense (has got)

  ➔ The adjective 'close' and the prepositional phrase 'for comfort' describe the situation. 'Has got' uses the **present perfect** tense to indicate a state that has resulted from a previous event.

• Leaving me here on my own

  ➔ Present Participle (Leaving), Prepositional phrase (on my own)

  ➔ 'Leaving' functions as a present participle, acting as an adjective modifying the unstated subject ('summer'). 'On my own' is a prepositional phrase describing the speaker's state.

• It's too hot to handle, so I've gotta get up and go

  ➔ Infinitive (to handle), Contraction (I've gotta), Coordination conjunction (so)

  ➔ 'To handle' is an infinitive used as an adjective. 'I've gotta' is a contraction of 'I have got to'. 'So' is used as a coordinating conjunction to connect two clauses.