Everybody Wants to Rule the World

“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was the third single from British pop-rock duo Tears for Fears’ second album, 1985’s Songs from the Big Chair. The song brought the band both critical and commercial acclaim, securing high chart positions on both sides of the Atlantic and going on to become one of their most-loved songs; the lyrical content of humanity’s struggles with greed, corruption, and the abuse of power – initially intended as a commentary on the Cold War – continues to be relevant today.

Musically, the song revolves around a two-chord idea, underpinned by a propulsive 12/8 rhythmic feel that was inspired by Simple Minds’ 1983 single “Waterfront”. The original sits slightly sharp of the key of D major, so here’s a re-tuned version to play along with:

Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World (pitch corrected)

If you haven’t had much experience of 12/8, then the chart will look very strange indeed. Because we’re using what is technically known as a compound time signature, our basic unit of rhythmic currency has switched from quarter notes to dotted quarter notes – 12/8 is the compound time equivalent of 4/4, so we still have four ‘big’ beats in the bar, but there are now three eighth notes in every beat.

Need a shorter explanation? 12/8 time = 4/4 with a triplet feel.

For what it’s worth, I hate reading in 12/8 – the very thought of it makes me go cross-eyed. I’d much prefer to write out everything in 4/4 and put ‘shuffle 8ths feel’ at the top of the chart, but this is the academically correct way to notate the song.