The Nightmares
Cruelly Yours

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Cruelly Yours Lyrics

This new single from The Nightmares is a delightful melancholic love song that delivers rapid verses and half-beat chorus lines awash with rich instrumentation.

I’m reminded of the Celtic-influenced rock of The Waterboys for the intro, with flickers of Echo & The Bunnymen – though they remain faithfully noir-pop overall, thanks in part to the dark lyrics and smart use of hooks.

The song finds many creative ways of talking about this doomed relationship, often with a fatalistic angle, culminating in the love-letter chorus, which ends with “We weren’t meant to be together. Always and forever, Cruelly yours x” (I added the kiss, but I imagine it scratched in blood and the paper enhanced with a gentle spray of cologne).

Musically, it’s got a real thickness and complexity, the synth does some great things in this track and the middle eight guitar sparkles wonderfully right before the choppy punches. The second verse leans into the bass tone and having three vocals allows for some great harmonies with additional trickery in the subsequent chorus, which is a great feature. The song bursts into a reprise section to finish things up and it has the polished feel of completeness.

I love this band and this is one of their best songs, which is saying something as they have many great tracks.

Watch The Nightmares – ‘Cruelly Yours’.

Cruelly Yours Lyrics

Slip the knife in
Twist until I grin
I don’t know when this night ends
Or when it will begin
Walk into the ocean and never turn back
Showered with devotion in a suicide pact
You were everything there ever was
Just because

If there wasn’t a bad bone in your body
Then I wouldn’t get a sad song from nobody
We weren’t meant to be together
Always and forever
Cruelly yours

Grant me one wish
Kill me with a kiss
I don’t know how you do it
But please don’t ever quit
You walk into the room and every neck starts to crack
If I’m leaving here with you then there’s a knife in my back
You are the patron saint of breaking hearts
Just the start

If there wasn’t a bad bone in your body
I wouldn’t get a sad song from nobody
We weren’t meant to be together
Always and forever

Like a rush of blood to the head
You make me blush ’til my cheeks turn red

If there wasn’t a bad bone in your body
I wouldn’t get a sad song from nobody
We weren’t meant to be together
We weren’t meant to be together
Always and forever
Cruelly Yours

The patron saint of breaking hearts
Cruelly Yours
The patron saint of breaking hearts
Cruelly Yours
Cruelly Yours

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Written by Fenton on 7th October 2023

Steve Fenton writes in our music, words, and culture categories. He was Editor in Chief for The Mag and covered live music for DV8 Magazine and Spill Magazine. He was often found in venues throughout the UK alongside ace-photographer, Mark Holloway. Steve is also a technical writer and programmer and writes gothic fiction. Steve studied Psychology at OSC, and Anarchy in the UK: A History of Punk from 1976-1978 at the University of Reading.