The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Is there anybody out there?
That wakes up with a bitter taste?
It's a king that we put up there
And he's a short way to fall from grace
It's slowly filling upward.
You can stand but you have no ground.
I hear it from the lost words.
They say its time that you lost your crown.
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
Is there anybody out there?
That can see what a man can change?
It's better that you don't care
Because he knows that he's in his state
I feel the paranoia.
When there's a time, put you in your place
In the eyes of those who watch ya
Well they can wait 'til they hit your face
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
Paint yourself a picture
When you waste another picture
And you win, and you win, and you win
Paint yourself a picture
And then you break another picture
And you win, and you win, and you win
And you win Yeah you win and you win
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
That wakes up with a bitter taste?
It's a king that we put up there
And he's a short way to fall from grace
It's slowly filling upward.
You can stand but you have no ground.
I hear it from the lost words.
They say its time that you lost your crown.
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
Is there anybody out there?
That can see what a man can change?
It's better that you don't care
Because he knows that he's in his state
I feel the paranoia.
When there's a time, put you in your place
In the eyes of those who watch ya
Well they can wait 'til they hit your face
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
Paint yourself a picture
When you waste another picture
And you win, and you win, and you win
Paint yourself a picture
And then you break another picture
And you win, and you win, and you win
And you win Yeah you win and you win
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
Don't be so greedy.
A dollar's a penny to you
When hearts are beating
Say what you want 'em to do.
Wasting away... I see you.
When the top of the world falls on you
Finding a day, don't want to be you
When the top of the world falls on you
Lyrics submitted by BrandNew1208
Top of the World Lyrics as written by Tyson Ritter Nick Wheeler
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
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Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
This song is about politics, not heartbreak.