The Cult's debut studio album Dreamtime was released in 1984 to moderate success, with its lead single "Spiritwalker" reaching No. 1 on the UK Indie Chart. Their second studio album, Love (1985), was also successful, charting at No. 4 in the UK and including singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary" and "Rain". The band's third album, Electric (1987), launched them new heights of success, also peaking at No. 4 in the UK and charting highly in other territories, and spawned the hit singles "Love Removal Machine", "Lil' Devil" and "Wild Flower". On that album, The Cult supplemented their post-punk sound with hard rock; the polish on this new sound was facilitated by producer Rick Rubin. After moving to Los Angeles, California, where the band has been based for the remainder of their career, The Cult continued the musical experimentation of Electric with its follow-up album Sonic Temple (1989), which marked their first collaboration with Bob Rock, who would produce several of the band's subsequent albums. Sonic Temple was their most successful album to that point, entering the Top 10 on the UK and US charts, and included one of the band's most popular songs "Fire Woman".
By the time of their fifth album Ceremony (1991), tensions and creative differences began to surface among the band members. This resulted in the recording sessions for Ceremony being held without a stable lineup, leaving Astbury and Duffy as the only two official members left, and featuring support from session musicians on bass and drums. The ongoing tension had carried over within the next four years, during which they released one more studio album, The Cult (1994), and called it quits in 1995. The Cult reformed in 1999 and released their seventh album Beyond Good and Evil two years later. The commercial failure of the album and resurfaced tensions led to the band going back on hiatus in 2002. They resumed activity in 2006, and have since released three more studio albums: Born into This (2007), Choice of Weapon (2012), and Hidden City (2016).
According to music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the band fuse a "hardcore punk revivalist" sound with the "pseudo-mysticism ... of the Doors and Uriah Heep and the guitar-orchestrations of Led Zeppelin and The Cure ... while adding touches of post-punk goth rock". In 1985 Astbury said, "Our music is just melodies and guitars. We're like Big Country and U2, only better!".
On August 15, 2020, Duffy announced on his Twitter that the band were recording a new album with producer Tom Dalgety at Rockfield Studios, where The Cult had recorded their debut album Dreamtime 36 years earlier.
The Cult is also the name of a Las Vegas funk group that recorded one album in 1976, an Australian psych rock band that released one single in 1965, a UK punk band that released one 7" in 1980 and a garage rock band (featuring Allan Springfield of Chelsea Beige) that released two singles in 1965 and 1966.
Butterflies
The Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She crushed the gray boy
Don't you know my selfishness was my suicide
Her painted wing became my suicide, suicide
The whole world did not start to cry
They just got inside me
And now they walk behind me
They walk behind me
Oh lord
Like little dogs
Like stony dogs, you know
Stony dogs
Stony dogs
They walk behind me, oh lord
They walk
Behind me
Behind me, oh lord
The lyrics of The Cult's song Butterflies seem to describe a relationship that the singer had with a manic-pixie-dream-girl type of character. With the line "The wild wide eye with her painted wing," the singer is describing the girl with an artistic and carefree spirit. However, this free-spirited girl "crushed the gray boy," which suggests that the singer was perhaps a more subdued individual who was overwhelmed by the girl's energy.
The following lines read, "Don't you know my selfishness was my suicide / Her painted wing became my suicide, suicide." This suggests that the singer's own selfishness may have contributed to the downfall of the relationship. The use of the word "suicide" twice in these lines reinforces the idea that the singer feels responsible for the end of the relationship.
The next set of lines, "The whole world did not start to cry / They just got inside me / And now they walk behind me," suggests that the singer is haunted by the memories of the relationship and feels as though the world is closing in on him. The final repetition of the phrase "They walk behind me" emphasizes the feeling of being followed and hounded by one's own thoughts and memories.
Line by Line Meaning
The wild wide eye with her painted wing
A vibrant and striking creature with colorful adornments
She crushed the gray boy
She had a profound effect on the dull and lifeless boy
Don't you know my selfishness was my suicide
The self-centeredness led to the destruction of oneself
Her painted wing became my suicide, suicide
The colorful and alluring aspect of her became the reason for self-destruction
The whole world did not start to cry
The world did not express empathy or sorrow
They just got inside me
The emotions were felt deeply within
And now they walk behind me
The emotions continue to follow the individual
They walk behind me
The emotions linger and persist
They walk behind me
The emotions persist and trouble
Oh lord
An expression of exasperation or helplessness
Like little dogs
The emotions are like small and persistent creatures
Like stony dogs, you know
The emotions are unyielding and stubborn
Stony dogs
The emotions are intransigent and rigid
They walk behind me, oh lord
The emotions continue to persist and trouble
They walk
The emotions persist
Behind me
The emotions follow
Behind me, oh lord
An expression of the continued exasperation or helplessness
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IAN ROBERT ASTBURY, WILLIAM HENRY DUFFY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind