I heard she sang a good song, I heard she had a style
And so I came to see her and listen for a while
And there she was this young girl, a stranger to my eyes

Strumming my pain with her fingers
Singing my life with her words
Killing me softly with her song
Killing me softly with her song
Telling my whole life with her words
Killing me softly with her song

I felt all flushed with fever, embarrassed by the crowd
I felt she found my letters and read each one out loud
I prayed that she would finish but she just kept right on

Strumming my pain with her fingers
Singing my life with her words
Killing me softly with her song
Killing me softly with her song
Telling my whole life with her words
Killing me softly with her song

She sang as if she knew me in all my dark despair
And then she looked right through me as if I wasn't there
But she was there, the stranger, singing clear and strong

Strumming my pain with her fingers
Singing my life with her words
Killing me softly with her song
Killing me softly with her song
Telling my whole life with her words
Killing me softly with her song