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  1. Tracks
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Bad Things by Cults

TRACK

Cults

Bad Things

Release date: 29th May 2011

From Cults
Track 9
3:40
PopMusicRock
Spotify Apple Music More on Cults

About This Track

Bad things happen to the people you love, Cults sing, and the rest of us are left watching from the sidelines. This track moves through cycles of resignation and defiance, the narrator caught between sympathy for others' suffering and a kind of fatalistic acceptance of their own. There's a weariness here, a sense that trouble has always been waiting in the wings. The refrain is built on repetition and escape. "I'm gonna run, run away" becomes a mantra, a way of asserting control even as the song's emotional logic suggests control has already slipped away. The colour black is invoked not as darkness but as declaration, a refusal to apologise for what you are. By the final verse, the prayer shifts direction: the narrator is no longer praying for others, but asking to be prayed for instead. It's a small inversion that carries real weight.

"Bad Things" is a track by Cults, from the album Cults, released 29th May 2011. The track is 3:40 long. It's filed under Pop. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 4 articles about Cults.

About the Artist

Cults

Cults

Lyrics

Bad Things

Bad things happen to the people you love
And you find yourself praying up to heaven above
But honestly, I've never had much sympathy
'Cause those bad things I always saw them coming for me

I'm gonna run, run away, run, run away, run away
Runaway and never come back
Run, run away, run, run away, run away
Show 'em that your color is black

Bad things happen to the people you love
And you find yourself praying up to heaven above
But honestly, I've never had much sympathy
'Cause those bad things always saw them coming for me

It would take some time just to see me shine
For the whole world to see me here with all of my light
But honestly, I've given up on all the fight
So that one day I'll have you all wrapped up in my night

I'm gonna run, run away, run, run away, run away
Runaway and never come back
Run, run away, run, run away, run away
Show 'em that your color is black

I'm gonna run, run away, run, run away, run away
Runaway and never come back
Run, run away, run, run away, run away
Show 'em that your color is black

Bad things happen to the people you love
And you find yourself praying up to heaven above
But honestly, I've never had much sympathy
'Cause those bad things I always saw them coming for me

Bad things happen to the people you love
And you'll find yourself praying up to heaven above
But honestly, I've never had much sympathy
'Cause next time you're praying you'll be praying for me

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Cults

3:402011
Listen
Album
Cults
Cults
Cults
30th May 2011
Track number
9
Release year
2011
  1. 1Abducted
    2:53
  2. 2Go Outside
    3:24
  3. 3You Know What I Mean
    2:32
  4. 4Most Wanted
    3:05
Watch the music video

Cults — Bad Things

Cults — Bad Things
3:41

 

Bad Things

More from Cults

Albums & EPs

To the Ghosts (Deluxe Edition)
To the Ghosts (Deluxe Edition)
2025
To the Ghosts
To the Ghosts
2024
Gilded Lily - EP
Gilded Lily - EP
2024
Always Forever - EP
Always Forever - EP
2023
Host B Sides & Remixes
Host B Sides & Remixes
2022
Host
Host
2020

Explore

More tracks by Cults

  1. Monolithic (Small Black Remix)Host B Sides & Remixes
    3:05
  2. My WindowHost B Sides & Remixes
    3:41
  3. No Risk (James Patterson Remix)Host B Sides & Remixes
    5:14
  4. Poodles DancingHost B Sides & Remixes
    3:05
  5. Sleeping Through SunshineHost B Sides & Remixes
    3:17
  6. Spit You Out (Tama Gucci Remix)Host B Sides & Remixes
    3:09
  7. Trials (Johnny Jewel Remix)Host B Sides & Remixes
    3:43
  8. Always ForeverAlways Forever - EP
    3:44
  9. Always Forever (Demo)Always Forever - EP
    1:50
  10. Always Forever (Mixed)

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  • 5Walk At Night
    3:08
  • 6Never Heal Myself
    3:03
  • 7Oh My God
    3:21
  • 8Never Saw The Point
    3:04
  • 9Bad Things
    3:40
  • 10Bumper
    2:42
  • 11Rave On
    2:52
  • 12Bad Things (Sped Up)
    3:10
  • 13Bad Things (Slowed Down)
    4:13
  • —The Curse
  • 1Oh My God
    3:20
  • 2Never Saw The Point
    3:04
  • 3Bad Things
    3:40
  • 4Bumper
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  • 5Rave On
    2:52

    • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    Brian Oblivion, Madeline Follin, Reverend Jim Jones
    Producer
    Cults, Ena Paul Kostabi, Reverend Jim Jones, Shane Stoneback
    Producer
    Paul "Ena" Kostabi
    Vocals
    Madeline Follin
    READ MORE ABOUT CULTSREAD MORE ABOUT CULTSREAD MORE ABOUT CULTSREAD MORE ABOUT CULTS
    READ MORE ABOUT CULTSREAD MORE ABOUT CULTSREAD MORE ABOUT CULTSREAD MORE ABOUT CULTS
    Cults - To The Ghosts
    Reviews

    Cults - To The Ghosts

    You’ll come for the hooks, but stay for the exorcism.

    24 Jul 2024 • 9:30 am
    Cults have shared 'Hung The Moon' from their upcoming album, 'To the Ghosts'
    News

    Cults have shared 'Hung The Moon' from their upcoming album, 'To the Ghosts'

    'To the Ghosts' marks the duo's first release in two years.

    12 Jul 2024 • 7:32 am
    Cults have announced some new UK and European tour dates in support of their upcoming album, 'To the Ghosts'
    News

    Cults have announced some new UK and European tour dates in support of their upcoming album, 'To the Ghosts'

    'To the Ghosts' marks the duo's first release in two years.

    21 Jun 2024 • 9:33 am
    New York alt-pop duo Cults have announced their fifth album, 'To The Ghosts'
    News

    New York alt-pop duo Cults have announced their fifth album, 'To The Ghosts'

    Check out new single 'Left My Keys'.

    7 Jun 2024 • 7:34 am
    Cults - Host
    Reviews

    Cults - Host

    ‘Host’ is the Air album that the French duo forgot to keep making.

    29 Sept 2020 • 3:12 pm
    Cults - Offering
    Reviews

    Cults - Offering

    More than worth the wait.

    5 Oct 2017 • 10:28 am