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 Killing me softly, with her song