This song is about the quest for power
and how it can have unfortunate consequences.
In an interview with mix magazine,
the band’s producer Chris Hughes
explained that they spent months working on the song shout,
and near the end of the sessions,
Roland Orzabal came into the studio
and played two simple chords on his acoustic guitar,
which became the basis for this song.
Hughes explained, everybody wants to rule the world was so simple
and went down so quickly. It was effortless, really.
In fact, as a piece of recording history, it’s bland as hell.
Everybody wants to rule the world
is a line from the 1980 Clash song Charlie don’t surf.
Joe Strummer of the clash recounted a story to musician magazine
about confronting Rowland Orzabal in a restaurant,
informing Orzabal that you owe me a fiver.
Strummer said that Rowland reached in his pocket
and produced a 5 pound note,
ostensibly as compensation for poaching the line for his hit title.
Because shout was the group’s first single in the rest of the world,
tears for fears thought
it should also be their first release in the U S,
but the record label insisted everybody wants to rule the world
was better suited for their American debut,
which is interesting in retrospect.
Smith told consequence of sound
because it was one of those times when the record company was right
and we were wrong, because for America,
yes, it was a better first single.