“You Could Start a Cult” by Niall Horan, Friday, July 7, 2023 (Trigger Warning: Cults and Domestic Abuse/ Alienation)
I WILL FOLLOW YOU TILL THERE’S NO TOMORROW. The production on The Show is exceptional and Horan’s vocals and the harmonies on many of the songs are good. The critics on the podcast Every Album Ever point out that Niall Horan’s writing process for his music is more like the writing process of One Direction songwriting sessions than his fellow band mates whereas the other members tried to distance themselves from the boy band. The critics also point out a growth in Horan’s voice—stronger than his One Direction days—and artistry, particularly in the acoustic ballads. Today’s song, “You Could Start a Cult” is like a campfire tune, featuring Horan playing a nylon strung guitar and taking a very simple harmonica solo. The song certainly stands out among love songs lyrically comparing his love to a potential cult leader. The speaker’s affection for the listener is obsessive and his devotion to her is no less than worship. While the line “you could start a war or two” harkens back to many love songs that may even reference beautiful women like Helen of Troy or Joan of Arc, the notion of following a beautiful woman to the point of Jonestown-level sacrifice is not a common love song theme. The song could easily turn comical, but Niall delivers the lines calm and wistful.
THEY SAY THAT WE’RE CRAZY. Niall Horan has stated that The Show is a collection of songs written over the course of the pandemic. Some of the themes of seem to permeate the record, including “You Could Start a Cult.” True crime and cult survivor stories have had a huge following since the pandemic with a new Docu-Series arriving weekly. Today’s song, though, makes me think about a former coworker who has ghosted everyone (friends, family, acquaintances) after meeting a girl in Korea. Since the start of the pandemic, Korean cults, particularly the Shincheonji cult (신천지) had been blamed for spreading Covid after members of the elusive religious sect defied rules of gathering limits and spread the virus in the workplace. Shincheonji members were encouraged to lie and say that they didn’t belong to that church when asked. However, recently, the group started openly proselytizing in public. “We’re Shincheonji. Hear our message,” they said to me outside of the subway station. I said to my friend beside me under my breath but a little loudly as we avoided eye contact, “Thanks for the pandemic.” Of course there is a nuanced argument to have about freedom of assembly and freedom of religion, but seriously, the church members of Shincheonji were certainly culpable, so much so that their founder tried to gift the South Korean government money to pay for their wrongs. The South Korean government, however, did not accept Lee Man-hee (이만희)’s donation and returned the 12 billion won ($10.1 million). So why has Shincheonji labeled a cult? A big part of that label is from how leadership recruits and isolates members from their friends and family, sometimes even moving members internationally. After being cut off from a former coworker after he met the love of his life, my friends and I speculated that the girl may be Shincheonji. The group has been infamous for recruiting foreign nationals in South Korea, often leeching onto Hallyu enthusiasts. Whether or not it was Shincheonji, another cult, or just a possessive relationship, an idolatrous relationship as suggested in today’s song and as executed in my former coworker’s devotion to the girl is alarming. Having grown up in a religion that many Christians call a cult, I’ve never actually experienced the “cutting of ties” in the way that I’ve experienced it with this person. Because of the serious nature of the topic, I’ll link some resources in case you are in a cult or an abusive relationship. Get out and get help.
Official audio:
Live performance:
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