"Pop song chords: They own the world! They own you! Deal with it."
In 2013: "Pop song chords: OH GOD MAKE IT STOP.
Later in the Year: "Pop song chords": No. NO. YES
Even Later: "Pop song chorAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!.
In 2018: "Pop song chords. The Comic Sans of musical structure."
In 2021: "Pop song chords. They're back! They never left! But also, they're back!"
"I've made a Running Gag about how [The Four Chords of Pop] is the most overused chord pattern in pop. I hope those jokes are funny to you, but if you know anything about musical theory it is so obvious. Pointing it out is like saying "Have you noticed that writers use the word 'the' a lot?" [...] And it's overused for a reason; it's a good sturdy foundation for a song. But it's just a foundation. For something that basic you gotta do stuff with it, like say, interesting guitar textures, a nice smashing synth riff, or just mess with the pattern a little. There's a billion variations on it; most of what we call four-chord songs use a bunch of other chords, including "Don't Stop Believin'"note , which gets a decent bit more complex after the opening measures. But that is not true for "Someone You Loved". No 6ths or 7ths here; same up-down-up-down rhythm as "Don't Stop Believin'", almost in the same key, even. The only thing it doesn't have is that awesome Journey bassline, because that would be too complicated. This is literally more basic than nothing. Using no chords would... well, obviously, it would be different and unexpected; you don't hear a lot of solo A Cappella songs. But this is, on a sheer compositional level, it's just the plain oatmeal of music. It's like starting an essay, 'What is blank? Well, Webster's defines blank as blah-de-blah-de-blah.' It just! Shouldn't! Happen!"
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall and the major lift.
The minor fall and the major lift.
— Leonard Cohen, "Hallelujah"
I believe in the faith that grows,
And the four right chords can make me cry,
When I'm with you I feel like I could die.
And that would be all right, all right
And the four right chords can make me cry,
When I'm with you I feel like I could die.
And that would be all right, all right
Third Eye Blind, Semi-Charmed Life (which, ironically, is a three chord song)
Jordan: So let me get this straight, Chicken Little; you're saying you can take those four chords, repeat them, and pump out every pop song ever, is that what you're saying?
Benny: Yeah.
Jordan: Fuck off.
Lee: Yeah, fuck off, Chicken Little!
Benny: Yeah.
Jordan: Fuck off.
Lee: Yeah, fuck off, Chicken Little!
Everything I've said has been said before,
In a thousand ways, in a thousand songs,
Sung with the same four chords
In a thousand ways, in a thousand songs,
Sung with the same four chords
— Bo Burnham, "Repeat Stuff"
