Dreams: The Greatest 2 Chord Song of All Time?

FuzzyPlum · #1 01-30-2022, 10:27 AM

I love a bit of Rick Beato...great channel!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpqAz0ZNQaY

Anyway, he picks out Dreams as one of the 3 greatest 2-chord songs of all time, along with Horse With No Name (America) and Something In The Way (Nirvana).

Stripped back like this you can appreciate just how simple it really is.

Macfan4life · #2 01-30-2022, 01:01 PM

Horse with no name is incredible

SteveMacD · #3 01-30-2022, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Macfan4life

Horse with no name is incredible

“Feeling Alright” wasn’t in the top three?

aleuzzi · #4 02-05-2022, 12:51 AM

Other great FM two-chord songs: Over My Head, Hold Me, Coming Your Way, Why, and Bad Loser.

There are others, but these come to mind. Why and Hold Me are especially impressive because their arrangements are so full and sophisticated that you don’t notice how basic (yet sound) their respective song structures really are.

HomerMcvie · #5 02-05-2022, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aleuzzi

Other great FM two-chord songs: Over My Head, Hold Me, Coming Your Way, Why, and Bad Loser.

There are others, but these come to mind. Why and Hold Me are especially impressive because their arrangements are so full and sophisticated that you don’t notice how basic (yet sound) their respective song structures really are.

With all due respect,

, OMH and Why are 4 and 3 chord songs(and that's if you don't count the Why guitar intro- it's more if you do). When I was a kid, I used to confuse a minor II for a IV. And Hold Me verses are Am G D, with the choruses running G Am G/B C D.

aleuzzi · #6 02-05-2022, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomerMcvie

With all due respect,

, OMH and Why are 3 chord songs(and that's if you don't count the Why guitar intro- it's more if you do). When I was a kid, I used to confuse a minor II for a IV. And Hold Me verses are Am G D, with the choruses running G Am G/B C D.

Of course, you’re right (and no disrespect was assumed).

Even Dreams has more than 2 chords if you count all the clever little changes (or variations on the F/G movements with F7 and G6). Still, I’ve played OMH and Why and they’re essentially two chords—with one or two key switches in each (no I don’t count the intro to Why). Forgot about all the chords in Hold Me! Anyway, it was in that spirit that I listed these other songs.