Niall Horan explains the surprising meaning behind his You Could Start a Cult lyrics

9 June 2023, 16:49

Niall Horan Breaks Down Every Song On 'The Show' | Making The Album

Sam  Prance

By Sam Prance

Trust Niall Horan to make one of the most romantic songs of the year and it's called 'You Could Start a Cult'.

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Niall Horan has opened up about the meaning behind his 'You Could Start a Cult' lyrics and why he came up with that title.

As soon as Niall Horan announced that one of the songs on his brand new album The Show was called 'You Could Start a Cult', it immediately began trending online. Based on the name, people thought that Niall was about to release one of the darkest songs of his career to date. They couldn't wait to find out what the song is about and what it sounds like.

Now, 'You Could Start a Cult' is officially here and it turns out that it's actually one of Niall's most romantic songs to date.

READ MORE: Niall Horan reveals his girlfriend's parents inspired his Never Grow Up lyrics

Niall Horan explains the surprising meaning behind his You Could Start a Cult lyrics
Niall Horan explains the surprising meaning behind his You Could Start a Cult lyrics. Picture: PopBuzz, Debra L Rothenberg/Getty Images

Talking to PopBuzz on our new podcast, Making The Album, Niall responded to the pre-release speculation about the song and revealed it's surprising meaning.

"It was a title that was flying around", stated Niall. "It spoke to me because I watch a lot of true crime. That's all I do. That's all we do."

"I just wrote it ['You Could Start A Cult'] down, see what happens, whatever that turns out to be."

According to Niall, the song was the last track he wrote for The Show. It was producer John Ryan that told Niall the record was missing "the Niall song", an acoustic number that Niall has become so famous for.

"So I was like right, give me a second, I need to go off and find some chords and stood outside kicking stones around and just playing these chords. And yeah, it just kind of came out.

"And [producer] Julian [Bunetta] said to me, [for the song title] how about 'You Could Start A Cult'? And it made so much sense. It was like this, all you have to do is flip this, make the title provocative and then just like flip it on its head."

Niall Horan - You Could Start a Cult (Official Audio)

The trick worked. When the album tracklist came out, the song started trending online. "Billboard had it as one of their top 'up and coming songs' even though the song had never even been heard yet. Just based off the title", said Niall.

But what is it actually about? "It's just a pure love song. It's just a love song, in the end. I kind of like that. I love the idea that you can't tell what it's gonna be."

Niall sings: "Baby, you could start a cult, you see / Anywhere you go, I'll be / You are so much more than beautiful to me".

Never has a lyric about a cult sounded so dreamy!

Niall Horan - 'You Could Start A Cult' lyrics

VERSE 1
Darlin', I will give up everything
Who I'll be and who I am
You can have it all
Baby, you could start a cult, you see
Anywhere you go, I'll be
You are so much more than beautiful to me

CHORUS
Oh, I'll follow you till there's no tomorrow
I'll follow you till there's no tomorrow
I'll follow you till there's no tomorrow
I'll follow you

VERSE 2
Swear you, you could start a war or two
Kingdoms fightin' over you
To wake up by your side is all I wanna do

CHORUS
Oh, I'll follow you till there's no tomorrow
I'll follow you till there's no tomorrow
I'll follow you till there's no tomorrow
I'll follow you

LISTEN: Niall Horan breaks down every song on The Show on new podcast Making The Album

Niall Horan wants fans to wear whatever they want at his shows #shorts #niallhoran