If you’ve ever heard anyone say that April is a cruel month, you can credit the American-born British poet T.S. Eliot for that. In 1922, Eliot published The Waste Land, considered one of the most important poems of the 20th century. The poem is vast and sweeping, with changes in narrator, time and place, and it includes allusions to a range of other works.

The Waste Land has been interpreted in countless ways, and that is a subject for a different time and place. But getting back to the April reference, The Waste Land opens with these four lines:

April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.

Here in Minnesota, we can relate to that “cruel” assessment of April: The weather can range from snowstorms to brilliant sun, and the wind never seems to slow down. If there’s snow, it’s grey and tired looking; if the snow is gone, the landscape is drab, muddy and spongy until the green and the flowers finally spring forth. As the month of April nears its end, let’s tip our hats to it with some music.

So for today’s 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs that mention “cruel” or its synonyms would you like to hear?

Respond with your song ideas in the comments below.

Have an idea for a Coffee Break topic? Submit your idea for a future theme and browse past Coffee Breaks in our archive.

Songs Played
St. Vincent – Cruel
Phantogram – Cruel World
The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony
Jackie Shane – Cruel Cruel World
Bananarama – Cruel Summer
Tori Amos – Cruel
Nick Lowe – Cruel to Be Kind