The Beatles “Hey Jude” Named The Most Referenced Song in Literature

What’s the one song that we all know the words to and can reference with ease? “Hey Jude” by The Beatles of course. Arguably the group’s most iconic track, the song has now taken the title of the most referenced song in literature, perhaps which is why we all know it so well.

A list compiled by the website Small Demons, which collates mentions of topics as varied as music and films to cities and cocktails, claims that The Beatles track is mentioned in at least 55 works of fiction by authors ranging from Stephen King (Wolves of the Calla) to John Updike (The Afterlife)

“Hey Jude” isn’t the only Beatles song mentioned on the list with “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” coming in at number seven, “Eleanor Rigby” at number eight, and “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club” at numbers 15 and 16 respectively.

The top 20 reads as follows:

1. The Beatles – ‘Hey Jude’

2. Elvis Presley – ‘Heartbreak Hotel’

3. Led Zeppelin – ‘Stairway To Heaven’

4. USA For Africa – ‘We Are The World’

5. ABBA – ‘Dancing Queen’

6. Carl Perkins – ‘Blue Suede Shoes’

7. The Beatles – ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’

8. The Beatles – ‘Eleanor Rigby’

9. Nirvana – ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

10. Queen – ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

11. Los Del Rio – ‘The Macarena’

12. Michael Jackson – ‘Beat it’

13. Creedence Clearwater Revival – ‘Proud Mary’

14. OneRepublic – ‘Apologize’

15. The Beatles – ‘I Want To Hold Your Hand’

16. The Beatles – ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’

17. ‘Lili Marleen’ (first recorded by Lale Andersen)

18. Michael Jackson – ‘Beat It’

19. Bob Dylan – ‘Like A Rolling Stone’

20. Rolling Stones – ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’