Nick Lowe’s 1979 power-pop hit, “Cruel to Be Kind,” sounds oxymoronic. You’ve gotta be cruel … to be kind? But the meaning behind the song doesn’t deal with some backward wisdom on kindness. It instead deals with heartache, despite the tune’s bright jangle. The deceptively cheery song is about a lover at his wits’ end […]
The post The Meaning Behind Nick Lowe’s Deceptively Cheery “Cruel to Be Kind” appeared first on American Songwriter.