I Am Very Good At Running Cults Lyrics - Beetlejuice

Song Overview

Review and Highlights

Quick summary

1. Cut number centered on Otho that lived on in concerts and special events, while the studio demo appears on the 2020 collection Beetlejuice - The Demos! The Demos! The Demos!
2. Style blend - Broadway patter, rock backbeat, and cult-lecture parody woven into a dark-comic showpiece.
3. Continuity - thematically pairs with The Box (Otho); both sketch a tech-meets-mystic huckster vibe.
4. No commercial single release and no charts; it functions as a character set piece rather than a marketplace push.
5. Known live renditions by Kelvin Moon Loh reinforce why it clicked onstage even after being cut from the book.

Creation History

Eddie Perfect wrote the tune during the musical’s development, then trimmed it as the show tightened around Lydia and Beetlejuice. The studio version surfaced later on the official demo compilation, while concert appearances let Kelvin Moon Loh lean into Otho’s mock-guru swagger. According to Playbill’s coverage of the production, the musical’s framework stayed fluid across its early years, with songs shifting as story priorities locked in.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Plot

Otho grabs center stage and tells on himself. Verse by verse, he brags about past “movements,” the logistics that kept them humming, and the body count that followed. Then he escalates from retro cult tactics to a tech-savior pivot, pitching a way to upload souls to a digital vault. It is seduction by confidence game - merchandised salvation with a catchy hook.

Song Meaning

The number is a satire of American self-help cults, wellness rackets, and techno-utopian afterlife schemes. The mood starts breezy and turns queasy as specifics stack up. Genre-fusion is part of the punchline: a bright groove selling the darkest brochure copy. For a character like Otho - a tastemaker with a flair for jargon - it reads as both confession and sales pitch.

Annotations

“Made ’em drink the kool-aid”

An explicit Jonestown reference that signals how far the song aims to push its gallows humor. The line compresses atrocity into a glib boast - the discomfort is the point.

“Now I, I’ll never die, I’ll live eternal on a server in the sky”

Here the con updates itself. The lyric jumps from fringe spirituality to upload futurism, poking at the modern promise that tech can launder mortality.

“Look, I made a box, baby”

A wink toward the companion cut The Box (Otho). Together they map a character arc: from cult operator to founder of a brand-new digital eternity. In staging, this would likely have set up a later plot device, but the cuts kept the main story lean.

“He’s got a masterplan... nightly we rock out to Steely Dan”

The back-up voices play recruitment chorus. The suburban detail list - minivan, classic-rock needle drops - grounds the absurdity in the everyday.

Style notes

Patter-driven verses sprint over a straight 4-on-the-floor feel, with quick call-and-response tags for the acolytes. The comedy is rhythmic - punchlines land on downbeats, and the chant-worthy title hook does the brand work. As stated in the 2020 demo’s rollout notes, the piece reads like a mini-concept musical inside the broader show.

Cultural touchpoints

True-crime cult lore, late-70s mass poisonings, and present-day digital immortality pitches are all in play. The lyric’s inventory of weapons, chemicals, and hype-speak borrows the tone of sensational documentaries - then flips it into a Broadway crowd-pleaser. According to NME magazine’s long-view on the Beetlejuice phenomenon, that uneasy party energy is part of the franchise’s signature.

Key Facts

• Artist: Original Broadway Cast of Beetlejuice, Kelvin Moon Loh
• Featured: Company voices as acolytes (live renditions)
• Composer: Eddie Perfect
• Producer: Ghostlight Records team for the demo release
• Release Date: October 30, 2020 for the demo on Beetlejuice - The Demos! The Demos! The Demos! (live event performances predate this)
• Genre: Broadway rock with patter-comedy
• Instruments: Rhythm section, guitars, keys, reeds, ensemble vocals
• Label: Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records for the demo album
• Mood: slick, sardonic, predatory
• Length: Approx. 3:46 on the demo
• Track #: Appears on the demo set; circulated as Track 20 on several listings
• Language: English
• Album: Beetlejuice Apocrypha (fan-circulated grouping) and official demo album
• Music style: patter verses over a driving backbeat with call-and-response refrains
• Poetic meter: mixed; rapid trochaic bursts in patter lines

Canonical Entities & Relations

• Eddie Perfect - wrote and performs the studio demo version; composed the Beetlejuice score.
• Kelvin Moon Loh - originated Otho on Broadway; performed the number at events.
• Ghostlight Records - released the 2020 demo compilation.
• Sh-K-Boom Records - imprint associated with the demo release.
• The Box (Otho) - companion cut song that pairs thematically with this number.
• Beetlejuice - Broadway musical produced by Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures.

Questions and Answers

Was this song in the final Broadway run?

No. It was cut during development, though it survives on the official demo release and in special-event performances.

Who sings the official demo?

Eddie Perfect sings the studio demo on the 2020 set; Kelvin Moon Loh has performed it live as Otho.

Is there a storyline purpose?

Yes. It frames Otho as a charismatic fraud who upgrades from retro cult tactics to digital immortality grift.

How does it connect to The Box (Otho)?

The “box” lyric tips to the other cut, which lays out the pseudo-tech that would trap or upload consciousness.

Any official single or chart placement?

No single release and no charts. The recording appears within a demos compilation rather than a commercial single cycle.

What musical devices sell the satire?

Motoric groove, chantable hook, call-and-response acolyte lines, and brisk patter that blurs brag and confession.

Where can I hear it?

On the 2020 demo album via major streamers, and in archived videos of Kelvin Moon Loh performing it at Beetle Ball style events.

Any notable covers or remixes?

No documented commercial covers; fan covers exist online.

Does it appear in the film or TV adaptations?

No. It is specific to the stage development materials and concerts.

Awards and Chart Positions

No chart entries for this specific track. The parent musical earned major nominations in 2019, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. According to Playbill and Tony Awards records, the production also scored design wins across the season.

How to Sing I Am Very Good At Running Cults

Key benchmarks from the demo version help guide practice: tempo sits around the mid-130s BPM, and the demo centers near A flat major. Live arrangements may slide a half-step for comfort, but the motor stays the same.

1. Tempo - Lock to ~135 BPM. Count quick fours and ride the groove; jokes land cleaner when the beat does not rush.
2. Diction - Patter demands crisp consonants. Over-pronounce plosives on pitch peaks, then relax vowels on sustains.
3. Breathing - Plan snatch breaths between acolyte responses. Mark two-liners where you can lift without killing momentum.
4. Flow and rhythm - Treat verses like spoken rhythm on pitch. Keep the sales-pitch cadence - confident, unhurried, a little smug.
5. Accents - Punch the title hook on the downbeat. Save the biggest bite for “very good at running cults.”
6. Ensemble and doubles - Backing voices should sound recruited, not angelic. Tight unisons over light thirds keep it cult-chant, not choir.
7. Mic craft - Verses stay close; step off slightly for shouted tags. Avoid hard sibilance on “server in the sky.”
8. Pitfalls - The humor dies if you telegraph menace too early. Play friendly until the lyric forces your hand.

Additional Info

The demo appears on Beetlejuice - The Demos! The Demos! The Demos! released in 2020, a treasure trove of cut songs and early drafts that chart the musical’s evolution. Eddie Perfect has discussed why pieces like this were trimmed, prioritizing Lydia’s journey and the show’s pacing. Kelvin Moon Loh’s event performances kept the number in fans’ ears, a reminder of how a cut song can still be a crowd favorite. As stated in the 2020 compilation notes, pairing this track with The Box (Otho) paints a fuller portrait of the character’s delusions of grandeur.

Sources: Apple Music; Spotify; YouTube; New York Theatre Guide; Playbill; SoundCloud.