Meaning Behind Tears for Fears’ Poignant Song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” has been a staple needle drop in coming-of-age stories, karaoke bars, and late-night playlists since its release in 1985. The bright musicality of the song is hard to resist while the thought-provoking lyrics make the song gritty enough to resonate with several generations of audiences.

The song was penned by the band members Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley alongside their producer, Chris Hughes. It’s a classic in the new wave space, but what was the jumping-off point for the trio of songwriters? Find out below.

[RELATED: Behind the Often Imitated Tears for Fears Song “Mad World”]

Behind the Meaning of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

Despite “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” becoming Tears for Fears’ signature song, it was first created as sort of an afterthought during the writing sessions for their album Songs from the Big Chair. Nearing the end of the album’s creation, Orzabal began to play two chords that sparked inspiration from Hughes. That inspiration later grew into an era-defining hit.

“‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ was so simple and went down so quickly, it was effortless, really,” Hughes once explained (per Songfacts). “In fact, as a piece of recording history, it’s bland as hell.”

The lyrics to the song became an anthem against greed and power hunger in the world. In the opening verse, frontman Curt Smith sings about the inescapable eye of “Big Brother.” Elsewhere are allusions to nuclear war (There’s a room where the light won’t find you) and rising tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union at the time of the song’s release (Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down).

To the band, the song’s message is as needed now as it was during the Cold War.

“I think a lot of these songs, now that I’ve listened back to them, are kind of just as poignant as they were then, but just towards different people, different areas of the world,” Smith told Yahoo! in 2017.

“Back when we were doing Songs From the Big Chair and ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World,’ we were really discussing the Cold War,” he continued. “But it was the U.S. and Russia then, and now the concern is more the U.S. and Korea. I find that fascinating.”

Most of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
Everybody wants to rule the world

There’s a room where the light won’t find you
Holding hands while the walls come tumbling down
When they do, I’ll be right behind you

So glad we’ve almost made it
So sad they had to fade it
Everybody wants to rule the world

(Photo by Rob Verhorst/Redferns)