One of the best known American power pop bands, the group's biggest hits over the years include "I Want You to Want Me", "Surrender", "Dream Police", "Don't Be Cruel" (a cover of Elvis Presley's hit), and "The Flame". Their most recent release, The Latest, has gained critical acclaim. They also wrote and performed the theme song for "The Colbert Report" as well as "That 70s Show", both tunes being fan favorites.
Nielsen and Petersson originally formed the group as Fuse in 1967, with Carlos joining the group several years later; however, when Zander joined as vocalist in 1972, the group was renamed Cheap Trick. Zander is considered one of the best hard rock vocalists of his era. For their part, Tom Petersson has been known for playing custom made 8, 12, and even a 18 string custom bass made by Modulus for Tom in 1981 and Rick Nielsen also has a penchant for unusual instruments. He owns and plays a five-necked solidbody electric guitar (it can be seen in the video for the song "She's Tight" among others).
Studio Albums
(1977) Cheap Trick [a.k.a Cheap Trick (1997)]
(1977) In Color
(1978) Heaven Tonight
(1979) Dream Police
(1980) All Shook Up
(1980) Found All The Parts
(1982) One on One
(1983) Next Position Please
(1985) Standing on the Edge
(1986) The Doctor
(1988) Lap of Luxury
(1990) Busted
(1994) Woke Up With A Monster
(1997) Cheap Trick [a.k.a Cheap Trick (1997)]
(2003) Special One
(2006) Rockford
(2009) The Latest
(2016) Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello
(2017) We're All Alright!
(2021) In Another World
[Live Albums]
(1978) At Budokan
(1978) Budokan II
(1998) At Budokan: the Complete Concert
(1999) Music for Hangovers
(2001) Silver
On Top of the World
Cheap Trick Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher-you're on top of the world
You're on top of the world tonight
It wasn't easy- it was hard as hell
You didn't get luck in a wishin' well
Never worked so hard- had so much pain
Wouldn't change for anything
He was tough, she was wild at fifteen
Quit school and had no dreams
Wasn't going very far
Then he got religion and she got a god
It's on her back and it's in his job
And it costs lots of money, honey- oh, no
Breakdown nearly every day
Shoulda known- couldn't get away
Got lucky with the girl next door
She was lonely and didn't care
She was young, she was dark, she was fair
Wrapped herself around you with her stare
You'd explode if she would touch you there
Touch you there- touch you there
Tonight, tonight-tonight-tonight
You're on top of the world
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher
You're on top of the world
You're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
The song "On Top of the World" by Cheap Trick talks about the feeling of being successful after going through a lot of hardships. The lyrics reflect the struggles that the singer had to face to reach the top, but now he is enjoying the fruits of his labor. He had to work hard and overcome a lot of pain and setbacks to finally reach his goals. The lyrics suggest that the path to success is not easy, but one should not give up on their dreams.
The song also touches on the idea of finding love in unexpected places. The singer explains how he learned about love from a movie and how a chance encounter with a girl next door, who was lonely and didn't care about his success, helped him in his journey to the top. The lyrics suggest that success is incomplete without love and companionship.
Overall, "On Top of the World" is a song about overcoming hardships and achieving one's goals while finding love and happiness along the way.
Line by Line Meaning
You're on top of the world
You feel very successful and happy.
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher-you're on top of the world
You are so happy that you feel like nothing could be better.
You're on top of the world tonight
You are particularly happy and successful tonight.
It wasn't easy- it was hard as hell
Your path to success was difficult and challenging.
You didn't get luck in a wishin' well
Never worked so hard- had so much pain
Wouldn't change for anything
You didn't just get lucky and stumble into success, you had to work incredibly hard and endure a lot of pain, but you wouldn't change it for anything.
Learned love from a movie screen
You learned about love from watching movies.
He was tough, she was wild at fifteen
Quit school and had no dreams
Wasn't going very far
You or someone you know had a tough adolescence and quit school with no idea what to do next.
Then he got religion and she got a god
It's on her back and it's in his job
And it costs lots of money, honey- oh, no
You or someone you know found religion, and it became a big part of life, but it's also expensive and can cause stress.
Breakdown nearly every day
Shoulda known- couldn't get away
You or someone you know has been struggling and experiencing breakdowns with seemingly no way out.
Got lucky with the girl next door
She was lonely and didn't care
She was young, she was dark, she was fair
Wrapped herself around you with her stare
You'd explode if she would touch you there
Touch you there- touch you there
You or someone you know got lucky in love with a neighbor who didn't have many choices and ended up falling for the charms of this person; there was intense chemistry and attraction.
Tonight, tonight-tonight-tonight
You're on top of the world
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher
You are incredibly happy and successful tonight, and it feels like nothing could be better.
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
You or someone you know is so happy and successful that they feel like they are invincible, like nothing can go wrong.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICK NIELSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
johnny zell
You're on top of the world
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher-you're on top of the world
You're on top of the world tonight
It wasn't easy- it was hard as hell
You didn't get luck in a wishin' well
Never worked so hard- had so much pain
Wouldn't change for anything
Learned love from a movie screen
He was tough, she was wild at fifteen
Quit school and had no dreams
Wasn't going very far
Then he got religion and she got a god
It's on her back and it's in his job
And it costs lots of money, honey- oh, no
Breakdown nearly every day
Shoulda known- couldn't get away
Got lucky with the girl next door
She was lonely and didn't care
She was young, she was dark, she was fair
Wrapped herself around you with her stare
You'd explode if she would touch you there
Touch you there- touch you there
Tonight, tonight-tonight-tonight
You're on top of the world
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher
You're on top of the world
You're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
Nina Catanese
It's not just a Chicago/Illinois thing. Cheap Trick is truly a great rock and roll band.
Gunther Schiller
You forgot Madison thats were they got there start look it up mad city resident
shawn bopko
kind of like beatles geroge harriason the gatur sounds elctronice slide sounds like harriason style
Chet Sacharko
rick neilsen ,truly underrated!
Cranky0ldMan
what a kick ass rock song, makes me smile to play this for my kids! Thanks guys, thumbs up
johnny zell
You're on top of the world
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher-you're on top of the world
You're on top of the world tonight
It wasn't easy- it was hard as hell
You didn't get luck in a wishin' well
Never worked so hard- had so much pain
Wouldn't change for anything
Learned love from a movie screen
He was tough, she was wild at fifteen
Quit school and had no dreams
Wasn't going very far
Then he got religion and she got a god
It's on her back and it's in his job
And it costs lots of money, honey- oh, no
Breakdown nearly every day
Shoulda known- couldn't get away
Got lucky with the girl next door
She was lonely and didn't care
She was young, she was dark, she was fair
Wrapped herself around you with her stare
You'd explode if she would touch you there
Touch you there- touch you there
Tonight, tonight-tonight-tonight
You're on top of the world
On top of the world and you can't
Get any higher
You're on top of the world
You're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
(can you hear me, can you see me) you're on top of the world tonight
patsghost
Utter greatness with a lot of humor. One of the best songs on Heaven Tonight.
joseph perez
Wow! What a great song!
Third song i loved from them.
Now i like over 80 of their songs!!
Greatest band ever!
Mike M
just fantastic.bought it when it first came out,old now but still love it
fordpickup40
WOW SOUNDS GREAT THROUGH ALL THESE YEARS !