"Killing Me Softly with His Song" is a song composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The lyrics were written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman after she was inspired by a Don McLean performance in late 1971. Lieberman released her version of the song in 1972, but it did not chart. In 1973 it became a number-one hit in the United States and Canada for Roberta Flack, also reaching number six in the UK Singles Chart. The song has been covered by many artists; the version by Fugees won the 1997 Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

After decades of confirming Lieberman's important contribution to the song, Fox and Gimbel changed their version of the origin story, to downplay Lieberman's role. Gimbel threatened McLean with a lawsuit in 2008, to remove words from his website saying that McLean was the inspiration for "Killing Me Softly," but McLean dismissed the threat by showing Gimbel his own words confirming the inspiration, published in 1973.

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
I heard he sang a good song, I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him, to listen for a while
And there he was, this young boy, a 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'd found my letters and 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
Woah
Woah-oah-ah-ah-ah uh, uh
La-la-la, la, la, la
Woah, la
Woah, la (ha, ha, ha, ha)
La-ah-ah-ah-ah
Strumming my pain with his fingers (yes, he was singing my life)
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 (strumming my pain)
From the Refugee Camp (yeah, yeah)
(Singing my life) up in here, you know how we do, L-Boogie up in here
Wyclef, Prazwell, said L-Boogie up in here
Wyclef up in here
My man Lil' Base (Prazwell 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 here)
We got Fallon up in here, Mulaney, Mulaney's (Refugee Camp, Refugee Camp)
Everybody got a breakin' 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

Arrangement by Boy Hapay, Performance and Recording by Boy Hapay


Equipment used: Fender American Standard Stratocaster, Boss DS-1, Macbook Pro (Logic Pro X, Final Cut Pro), Korg MicroKey, Canon 600D