undoubtedly one of the reasons. If anything, in some of the songs on Achtung Baby, it is the man who gets the raw deal. On 'So Cruel', it is the man who is the victim of a woman. It is the reverse of the classical torch song". Quoting the lyric "Her skin is pale like God's only dove / Screams like an angel for your love / Then she makes you watch her from above / And you need her like a drug", he added "The man is manipulated by the woman's sexual power. He is incapable of pulling himself out of this relationship and despite his best efforts, he comes back to her." He noted that the woman is portrayed as "cruel, unreliable and unfaithful. She can only betray him and the duality between love and lust is well depicted in the song." Cogan concluded by saying "unlike the classical torch song, this one ends with the man seemingly deciding to leave the woman... The only thing we don't know in the end is whether he actually acts on his promise or not." Conversely, author Deane Galbraith believed the song was told from the woman's viewpoint, saying "a woman is unable to receive love without also hating those who love her. She acts simultaneously as tender lover and cruel sadist. The lyrics that describe her 'like an angel' are immediately juxtaposed with a more sordid description that pictures her love as an addictive and manipulative drug. Instead of the subtle and vivifying transcendence of a heavenly angel, when she offers to take her lover higher, he is forced to watch her while she controls him 'from above'. For this is a fallen angel, not purely good or evil, but a lover whose best intentions are insidiously corrupt". Reception "So Cruel" was favourably received by critics. Hot Press editor Niall Stokes called it "dark, bitter, intense and masochistic", believing the lyrics to be the aspect that made the song memorable. He added, "As a statement about marital infidelity, the sense of betrayal that accompanies it and the rage that almost inevitably follows, it would be hard to surpass." Uncut contributor Gavin Martin rated the song four stars, calling it "lustful and lustrous". He said that "the Edge's looped five-note piano motif is encircled by a sabre-rattling guitar and a fine synthesized string part; lushly multi-dimensional, pregnant with poise and feeling"