This song has the most Googled guitar chords in the world, according to new study
An average of 163,453 people search these chords every month.
Image: Oliver Morris / Getty
The chords for Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah – or at least Jeff Buckley’s iconic cover version – are the most Googled across the world, according to a new study.
163,453 people are searching for them every month, most likely in order to play the song themselves. So we’re sorry St. Vincent, but it looks as though Cohen’s 1984 track is continuing to be one of the most covered songs of all time.
The study, carried out by Wood and Fire Studio, looked into the Google search volume of 271 song chords and riffs across 2,314,336 Google search queries. Ed Sheeran’s Perfect lands in second place, with 147,479 searches per month, and Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here is third (135,979 searches/month). Interestingly, these top three songs all have love as a central theme.
Looking at specific countries, the results show even more classics. Let It Be by The Beatles tops the list in the UK, with 21,877 Google searches per month, as well as in Germany with 24,026 searches per month.
Elvis Presley’s Can’t Help Falling In Love is the most popular song across the majority of Central and South America, including countries like Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia. In Canada, House Of The Rising Sun by The Animals comes out on top.
Wood and Fire’s interactive map also flashes up hits such as Blur’s Song 2 in Ethiopia, Everlong by the Foo Fighters in Pakistan, and even modern tracks such as Vance joy’s Riptide (Norway) and All I Want by Kodaline (Japan, Mongolia, Zambia and more), both of which were released in 2013.
As for riffs, the most searched are all from instantly recognisable songs. Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes is the most Googled across the world, followed by Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven and Nirvana’s Come As You Are.
Check out more and view the full map at Wood and Fire.