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The Cult — She Sells Sanctuary
Album: Love
Avg rating:
7.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 5379









Released: 1985
Length: 4:14
Plays (last 30 days): 2
Oh the heads that turn
Make my back burn
Oh the heads that turn
Make my back, make my back burn

The sparkle in your eyes
Keeps me alive
And the sparkle in your eyes
Keeps me alive, keeps a man alive

And the world, and the world
And the world turns around
The world, and the world, yeah
The world drags me down

Well the heads that turn
Make my back burn
And the heads that turn
Make my back, make my back burn, yeah
Yeah-ah-ah-ah
Yeah-ah-ah-ah

The fire in your eyes
Keeps me alive
And the fire in your eyes
Keeps me alive

I'm sure in her you'll find
The sanctuary
I'm sure in her you'll find
The sanctuary

And the world
The world turns around
And the world, and the world
The world drags me down

And the world, and the world, and the world
The world turns around
And the world, and the world, and the world, and the world
The world drags me down

Hey-yeah-ah-ah
Hey-yeah-ah-ah

And the world
And the world turns around
And the world, and the world
Yeah, the world drags me down

And the world
Yeah, the world turns around
And the world, and the world
The world drags me down

Sanctuary
Sanctuary
Sanctuary
Sanctuary
Comments (853)add comment
Everything about this classic is gold: the opening guitar riff, the pounding drums, the chiming punctuations, the impassioned vocals, the minimal lyrics, and of course the video. To echo pretty much every other poster: can't not crank this to 11. 
 Harry_Tuttle_99 wrote:
No Way this is from 1985!!! 

When did I get so old?!?  




By adding the intervening 39 years (at the current count, 2024) to your (and mine) ages!
Went quick, didn't it!
.
Still rocking? Yea, me too, and gonna keep on rocking, till i can't. Then i'll be getting one of those chairs made for doing it sitting down...!
 KPC1 wrote:

Shit - I'm @ work and can;t blast it!!!!



Oh No!  You can't listen to this and NOT blast - I'll do it for you.. side order of bleeding ears?
Shit - I'm @ work and can;t blast it!!!!
about as 10sey as 10s get
What a great retelling of the Olt Testament real life story of Hosea and his unfaithful wife.
 moocray wrote:

Just saw The Cult at Palms in Vegas last month. Ian Astbury voice was as amazing as ever. Had opportunity to meet him after the show and I appreciated his humble demeanor: very open, appreciative of his fans, and inspirational. Asked him the backstory for "She Sells Sanctuary" and he said "that it's better to keep it as a secret to maintain the allure." Totally agree with him .



You lucky ducky..!!
Just saw The Cult at Palms in Vegas last month. Ian Astbury voice was as amazing as ever. Had opportunity to meet him after the show and I appreciated his humble demeanor: very open, appreciative of his fans, and inspirational. Asked him the backstory for "She Sells Sanctuary" and he said "that it's better to keep it as a secret to maintain the allure." Totally agree with him .
This is one of those that just has to be played LOUD!!!!
Best guitar opening ever
Because of this I bought the vinyl, and became disapointed.
All time banger. đź’Ż
Always liked the guitar sound on this track, especially the opening riff. Remember hearing this one on the little radio I had at the time.
Perfect song for a beautiful, summer afternoon on a Friday.  Turn it up!
This is one of those fantastic albums. Exceptional production
 melzabutch wrote:




Dudes dancing made this video. Those boots!
crazy intro! love it!!
Please play more of The Cultđź‘Ś
i will always love ian's voice. love removal machine is probably my fav, but this is great, too!

i saw the cult live around 1989/1990 opened up for metallica. the crowd was so pumped for metallica that they boo'ed the cult off the stage. i was pissed. i was there 3rd row to see the cult and got to see/hear about 3 songs before the band gave up. never saw anything like it.  
 aspicer wrote:

As much a "10" as any great rock song I do believe! On a bad day maybe a "9"




I Agree!  Thanx RP!   
As much a "10" as any great rock song I do believe! On a bad day maybe a "9"
Super song. Many thanks RP.
 S-curvy wrote:

Just need to get the dial…up…to….11




tight drumming, tight production, tight rock - love it. absolutely class when in the car and windows down (or no windows!)
Classic 80s rock!!! 
Saw them live, opening for The Cure in San Francisco many years ago. Their stage attitude just felt cocky to me and they smashed up their instruments , Who-style, at the end of their set. Always left a  bad taste in my mouth for this band.
 easmann wrote:

Distill desolation, despair, defiance, hope, and joy, into a few lean lines. Express it all with riotous abandon. Infuse it with infectious passion and inflect it with a hint of beauty. 
That’s what they achieved with this magnificent song. 



You're a gifted writer. It takes talent to do proper justice to translate one medium to another medium - in this case music to text. Well done. I agree.


 Silvervanman wrote:


I get tired of it pretty quickly, this is twice in one day


exactly, this is still a staple of "classic rock radio" and overplayed
 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:

Unless you never liked it from the beginning.


minority opinion, but yea.
one hit - overplayed
BHTM's "Broken Hearted Savior" > The Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary", just now.  Best segue ever!
 burnin up. 
 jimlandwehr2582 wrote:

Always a turner-upper.



And again and again and again...!!!
 bdwhitepm wrote:

Dig deeper in to this album!  This is the "Stairway to Heaven" track, but this album is the best thing this group ever put out.  I still love it for a long drive!  I think they switched producers after this album and became more "metal" and less "alt." which lost some fans but this is tops!



Downhill after Love. This album is a story, must listen to it all in order, in one go.

A masterpiece :-)
 dalida wrote:

i realy love this song. it's one of those songs you never get tired off.


Unless you never liked it from the beginning.
No Way this is from 1985!!! 

When did I get so old?!?  


In Solihull you'll find sanctuary
Always liked this one.  Never really noticed how repetitive the lyrics were...

Still like it.   
 TonyFoxcranham wrote:

Who ?



No, The Cult..... [snicker]
9 >> 10. Who am I gaming? It really is a "10!"   
Who ?
VERY 80'S
  
I saw The Cult live. They were AWESOME. Just awesome. Not sure if it would be the same 35 years later.
Excellent!   Even better NOW in FLAC w/ great studio phones, amp & DAC!  Thanx RP!
Just need to get the dial…up…to….11
I love this tune!
 dalida wrote:

i realy love this song. it's one of those songs you never get tired off.



I get tired of it pretty quickly, this is twice in one day
Absolute Banger
 joanferva wrote:

Grew up in the 80s disliking the sound of this band and Ian's voice, just to rediscover them 30 years later. I feel bad for the time I wasted while they were already making history...



Nice. That happens to me a lot on this channel. I'm trying to stay particularly open to it now.  
One of the Great voices of Rock...
This was "our song", and we requested it one night at a country bar in a rural area.  And...they played it !! (but the dance floor got a lot quieter...just the two of us)
Sorry mate, what?
Dig deeper in to this album!  This is the "Stairway to Heaven" track, but this album is the best thing this group ever put out.  I still love it for a long drive!  I think they switched producers after this album and became more "metal" and less "alt." which lost some fans but this is tops!
 CoYoT51 wrote:

As boring as Tom Petty.




Totally agree - i.e. not at all boring.
7, bordering on 8 here, just like much of Petty.
I can think of  many descriptions of this awesome piece of work but never boring! This is in my all time top 10 songs ever
 CoYoT51 wrote:

As boring as Tom Petty.



Agreed - Yawn.
Another band straight outta Bratfud, from my time there in the 80s. Others were NMA and The Sisters of Mercy. I wish I'd realised at the time how lucky I was to have such great bands around.
An all time fav straight up, no BS, rock song.
As boring as Tom Petty.
Strange confession. Moved to the suburbs where they have block parties. I have a recurring dream where I am on a makeshift stage mid-block with a mic on a stand in my hand and an acoustic guitar, belting out the lyrics to this glorious song and power-strumming just that one chord every once in a while (you know, for street cred) and the moms and kids (and begrudgingly dads) are going crazy. Then I wake up.
 DanielHLloyd wrote:

I hear the influence but I think The Cult were way more edgy.
 

Even though I like The Killers, I totally agree with your comment. The Cult were edgy and more raw.
 dalida wrote:
i realy love this song. it's one of those songs you never get tired off.
 
Representing 999 other people I can only agree totally, it's like no memory effect every time!
 geonuine wrote:
  It's The Killers from another decade 
 
I hear the influence but I think The Cult were way more edgy.
  It's The Killers from another decade 
Grew up in the 80s disliking the sound of this band and Ian's voice, just to rediscover them 30 years later. I feel bad for the time I wasted while they were already making history...
Always amazes me how he makes these essentially meaningless lyrics sound so badass and meaningful. 
My favourite!!!!
A  great blend of different eras in rock music!
Pure Rocks!
Always a turner-upper.
 cmagri1 wrote:
My favourite from The Cult! Danced to it very hard in the 80s
 
Boppin' in 2020
Mis-heard lyrics. I always thought it was something about losing a "paperback". 
In the 80s Rock and Roll was a joke; all hair bands and bs........until this album dropped. 
 bdwhitepm wrote:
Bill:  Please dig DEEEPER in to this release.  I still bust this CD out for road trips.  This song has become so overplayed (for me at least) and there is so much more to this album.  

For me, The Cult never eclipsed this album.  This is thier masterwork.
 
Disagree - it's good but I could listen to Electric every day! 
A solid rockin 10 plus from the open highway bikers
 Svetty wrote:
Yawn
 

Stop it! You're making me yawn.
 bdwhitepm wrote:


Oh now I have to find it!
 

The video is late-80s OTT but it's fun. This song is permanently epic. 
Bill:  Please dig DEEEPER in to this release.  I still bust this CD out for road trips.  This song has become so overplayed (for me at least) and there is so much more to this album.  

For me, The Cult never eclipsed this album.  This is thier masterwork.
 Grayson wrote:
OMG. Just watched the video for this for the first time (I'm totally 80s/Walkman-only gen). Really wish I'd never done that. Liked the song looong time, but yeah, once you see you can't un-see.

 
 

Oh now I have to find it!
OMG. Just watched the video for this for the first time (I'm totally 80s/Walkman-only gen). Really wish I'd never done that. Liked the song looong time, but yeah, once you see you can't un-see.

 
YES
Uprating everything today, not sure what that's about! music keeps me alive 
One for the ages !!
It always reminds me of U2 and how in my humble opinion these guys are better.
 Svetty wrote:
Yawn
 

Your loss
Yawn
Sing it Ianđź‘Ť
reminds me of Big Country.  
I've never understood all the comparisons to Jim Morrison's vocal stylings.
Oh yeah....
“Distill desolation and despair, defiance, hope and joy, into a few lean lines. Express it all with riotous abandon. Infuse it with infectious passion and inflect it with a hint of beauty. That’s what they achieved with this magnificent song. “ 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻this!👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻
 jp33442 wrote:
Another overplayed song NEXT
 
Two times in thirty days is overplayed?  SHEESH!  I'd hate to think what the frequency for "just right" would be...
Another overplayed song NEXT
Just the best....
Bloody amazing band and lots of happy memories.
She sells (no) deep philosophy.
When this came out I'd always make it out on to the dance floor. And I really don't dance. But just had to move to this one
Distill desolation, despair, defiance, hope, and joy, into a few lean lines. Express it all with riotous abandon. Infuse it with infectious passion and inflect it with a hint of beauty. 
That’s what they achieved with this magnificent song. 
Opening of Layer Cake!
10^(infinity)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just saw them a couple months ago, still kicking azz!
NFS
Play "Fire Woman", Bill!           
So many years I did not hear this one. Nice one!
 cmagri1 wrote:
My favourite from The Cult! Danced to it very hard in the 80s
 

Ah yes, so very hard. And we even requested it at a country bar..and they even played it, so we danced like maniacs, and everyone looked on with a "what the....?" expression.
Ahhh, this was 'our song' during our early days and engagement. (it really was) Soft, melodic, soothing.  But a telling sign of things to come.
I LOVE how they use that acoustic guitar as a lead.  What other rock band does that?
 melzabutch wrote:

gif of The Cult's singer dancing
 




gif of professional wrestler Randy 'Macho Man' Savage saying "Oooh Yeah!"

Ah, the Cult. Thanks, RP!
One of the most underrated bands EVER, and this is one of their best.  Thanks Bill!
My favourite from The Cult! Danced to it very hard in the 80s
 lophrequa wrote:
Loudest show I ever saw.

 
That's an ear-ringing endorsement!

<rim shot>
Best song - ever !!! (and simple)
 thewiseking wrote:
In a decade not known for ROCK, along came The Cult, with their big revved up dual rhythm guitars and you could dance to it!
Killer! 

 
Nope, only one guitar, but it is certainly big sounding.  Oh hell yeah!
 melzabutch wrote:


 
MAGICAL{#Dancingbanana}
I love this song! Never get tired of it.
 melzabutch wrote:


 


Mezzanine followed by this... Two godlike tracks after another.  Thank you R.P.  You Rock!!  {#Dancingbanana_2}