Killing Me Softly With His Song – English Lyrics

• By: Fugees

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the power of music to transcend language and connect with our deepest emotions through the Fugees' iconic rendition of 'Killing Me Softly'. This song offers a unique opportunity to explore the fusion of English soulful singing with the rhythms of hip-hop and reggae. By listening to Lauryn Hill's incredible vocal performance, learners can appreciate the nuances of emotional expression in English, while the song's narrative of being profoundly moved by art is a universal experience that makes it a timeless and special piece of music.

[English]

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

...

Yo (yeah, yeah)

This is Wyclef, Refugee Camp (L Boogie up in here)

Pra'zrel (Pra'zrel up in here)

Little Base sittin' up there on the bass (Refugees up in here)

While I'm on this, I got my girl L

One time (one time)

One time (one time)

Ayo L, you know you got the lyrics

I heard he sang a good song

I heard he had a style

And so I came to see him

And listen for a while

And there he was

This young boy, stranger to my eyes

Strumming my pain with his fingers (one time, one time)

Singing my life with his words (two times, two times)

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

Then read each one out loud

I prayed that he would finish

But he just kept right on

Strumming my pain with his fingers (one time, one time)

Singing my life with his words (two times, two times)

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

Yo, L Boog, take me to the bridge

...

Strumming my pain with his fingers (yes he was)

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

...

Yo put your hands together for L Boogie from the Refugee Camp

(Up in here) you know how we do (L Boogie up in here)

Wyclef, Pra-zrel (Wyclef up in here)

My man Little Base (Pra'zrel up in here)

Jerry one time (T Rocks up in here, we got Warren up in here)

This is how we (Warren up, up in here, Outsiders up in here)

Refugee Camp, Refugee Camp (we got Fallon up in here, Mulaney)

(Mulaney's up in here, we got Val' up in here)

Everybody got a breaking point kid

And they'll rat on you

The family niggas will rat on you

That's why we gotta be prepared to take whoever out we need to

(I told you I was gonna get you next)

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
pain /peɪn/ B1	noun - physical suffering or discomfort
life /laɪf/ A2	noun - the existence of living beings
song /sɒŋ/ A1	noun - a piece of music with words sung by a voice
fingers /ˈfɪŋgərz/ A2	noun - parts of the hand used for holding or touching things
words /wɜːrdz/ A2	noun - units of language used to express meaning
song /sɒŋ/ A1	noun - a piece of music with words sung by a voice
whole /hoʊl/ B2	adjective - entire or complete
life /laɪf/ A2	noun - the period during which someone or something is alive
telling /ˈtɛlɪŋ/ B2	verb - to share information or reveal
softly /ˈsɒfli/ B2	adverb - in a gentle or quiet manner
killing /ˈkɪlɪŋ/ B2	verb - causing death

Key Grammar Structures

• Killing me softly with his song

  ➔ Present continuous tense

  ➔ The phrase uses the **present continuous tense** to describe an ongoing action happening at the moment.

• Strumming my pain with his fingers

  ➔ Gerund phrase as subject

  ➔ The phrase **'strumming my pain'** functions as a **gerund phrase**, acting as the subject of the sentence, indicating the action being performed.

• Telling my whole life with his words

  ➔ Gerund phrase as subject

  ➔ The **'telling my whole life'** functions as a **gerund phrase**, serving as the subject that describes the action of revealing or expressing personal history.

• Embarrassed by the crowd

  ➔ Adjective describing a state

  ➔ The word **'Embarrassed'** is an **adjective** that describes the speaker's emotional state, often used with the preposition **by** to indicate the cause of the emotion.

• I felt he found my letters

  ➔ Past simple tense

  ➔ The phrase uses the **past simple tense** ('felt', 'found') to describe completed actions in the past.

• I'll be singing for you always

  ➔ Future continuous tense

  ➔ The phrase **'I'll be singing'** uses the **future continuous tense** to indicate an action that will be ongoing at a specific future time.