Top Of The World
Patty Griffin Lyrics
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Wished I was stronger
I wished I loved Jesus
The way the my wife does
I wished it'd been easier
Instead of any longer
I wished I could've stood
That won't happen now
That won't happen now
There's a whole lot of sinners
That ain't gonna be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
Somehow
I'm afraid I broke the wings
Off that little songbird
And she's never gonna fly
To the top of the world How
To the top of the world
I don't have to answer
Any of these questions
Don't have no guide to
Teach me no lessons
I come home in the evening
Sit in my chair
One night they called me for supper
But I never got up
I stayed right there
In my chair
There's a whole lot of singing
That ain't gonna be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
Somehow
I think I broke the wings
Off a little songbird
And she's never gonna fly
To the top of the world
How
To the top of the world
I wished I'd had known you
Wished I had shown you
All of the things I
Was all these are
But I'd pretend to be sleeping
When you'd come in in the morning
To whisper goodbye
Go work at the rain
I don't know why
Don't know why
Cause everyone's singing
We just want to be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
So how?
Gonna grab a hold
Of that little songbird
And take her for a ride
To the top of the world
Right now
To the top of the world
In Patty Griffin's song Top of the World, the singer expresses their feelings of regret and longing for a past relationship. They list the things they wish they had been - smarter, stronger, and loving Jesus as much as their wife does. They also wish that things may have been easier in the past, and that they could have made choices that would have made someone else proud. However, they come back to the idea that it's too late for any of this to matter. They mention sinners disappearing every day without a word, which may indicate that the person they are thinking about is gone, and they never had the chance to reconcile. The singer then repeats the line "I think I broke the wings off a little songbird," which suggests that they believe they destroyed this relationship beyond repair. They acknowledge that there is a lot of singing going unheard and that they want to be heard too.
The final verse takes a slightly different turn as the singer wishes they had expressed their feelings to the person they are thinking of instead of pretending to be asleep when they left in the morning. The final line of the song, "Gonna grab a hold of that little songbird and take her for a ride to the top of the world right now," leaves an ambiguous note to end on. It could suggest that the singer has come to terms with their mistakes and may now try to make amends, or it could be an acknowledgment that it's too late and all they can do is imagine what could have been.
Line by Line Meaning
I wished I was smarter
I wish I had more intelligence
Wished I was stronger
I wish I had more physical or emotional strength
I wished I loved Jesus
I wish I had the same level of devotion to Jesus that my wife has
The way the my wife does
She loves Jesus in a way that I admire and wish I could emulate
I wished it'd been easier
I wish life wasn't so difficult
Instead of any longer
I wish it didn't go on for so much time
I wished I could've stood
I wish I had stayed strong
Where you would've been proud
I wish I had done something that would have made you proud
That won't happen now
It's too late to do anything that would make you proud
That won't happen now
It's too late to do anything that would make you proud
There's a whole lot of sinners
There are many people who do bad things
That ain't gonna be heard
Their voices aren't going to be heard
Disappearing every day
They are dying every day
Without so much as a word
Without anyone noticing or paying attention
Somehow
It's a mystery why this is happening
I'm afraid I broke the wings
I think I ruined someone's potential
Off that little songbird
Metaphor for someone's innocence or talent
And she's never gonna fly
They won't reach their full potential
To the top of the world How
To achieve great things
To the top of the world
To achieve great things
I don't have to answer
I don't have to respond to anyone's inquiries
Any of these questions
I don't have to respond to any of these queries
Don't have no guide to
I have no one to teach me
Teach me no lessons
I have no one to learn from
I come home in the evening
I usually come back from work in the evening
Sit in my chair
I rest in my chair
One night they called me for supper
One night they asked me to come to dinner
But I never got up
I didn't get up from my chair
I stayed right there
I remained in my seat
In my chair
In my seat
There's a whole lot of singing
There are many people who have something to say
That ain't gonna be heard
Their voices aren't going to be heard
Disappearing every day
They are dying every day
Without so much as a word
Without anyone noticing or paying attention
Somehow
It's a mystery why this is happening
I think I broke the wings
I think I ruined someone's potential
Off a little songbird
Metaphor for someone's innocence or talent
And she's never gonna fly
They won't reach their full potential
To the top of the world
To achieve great things
How
Metaphor for achieving one's greatest hopes and dreams
I wished I'd had known you
I wish I had met you before
Wished I had shown you
I wish I had shared things with you
All of the things I
Everything about myself
Was all these are
I am what I am
But I'd pretend to be sleeping
I would act as if I was sleeping
When you'd come in in the morning
When you would come in during the morning
To whisper goodbye
To say good-bye quietly
Go work at the rain
Metaphor for leaving to work hard
I don't know why
I'm not sure why
Don't know why
I'm not sure why
Cause everyone's singing
Because everyone has something to say
We just want to be heard
We just want someone to listen to us
Right now
Immediately
Gonna grab a hold
I'm going to take hold of
Of that little songbird
Metaphor for someone's innocence or talent
And take her for a ride
I'm going to help them achieve their potential
To the top of the world
To achieve great things
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Patricia J. Griffin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@stormskellie1414
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
I wished I was smarter
I wished I was stronger
I wished I loved Jesus
The way my wife does
I wish it had been easier
Instead of any longer
I wished I could have stood
Where you would have been proud
But that won't happen now
That won't happen now
[Chorus]
There's a whole lot of singing that's never going to be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Think I broke the wings off that little song bird
She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now
Top of the world
[Verse 2]
I don't have to answer any of these questions
Don't have no God to teach me no lessons
I come home in the evening
Sit in my chair
One night they called me for supper
But I never got up
I stayed right there in my chair
[Chorus]
[Verse 3]
I wished I'd have known you
Wished I'd have shown you
All of the things I was on the inside
But I'd pretend to be sleeping
When you'd come in in the morning
To whisper goodbye
And go to work in the rain
I don't know why
Don't know why
Because everyone's singing
We just wanna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Want to grab a hold of that little song bird
Take her for a ride to the top of the world right now
[Outro]
To the top of the world[x8]
@dharmikborisagar2125
I wished I was smarter
Wished I was stronger
I wished I loved Jesus
The way the my wife does
I wished it'd been easier
Instead of any longer
I wished I could've stood
Where you would've been proud
That won't happen now
That won't happen now
There's a whole lot of sinners
That ain't gonna be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
Somehow
I'm afraid I broke the wings
Off that little songbird
And she's never gonna fly
To the top of the world How
To the top of the world
I don't have to answer
Any of these questions
Don't have no guide to
Teach me no lessons
I come home in the evening
Sit in my chair
One night they called me for supper
But I never got up
I stayed right there
In my chair
There's a whole lot of singing
That ain't gonna be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
Somehow
I think I broke the wings
Off a little songbird
And she's never gonna fly
To the top of the world
How
To the top of the world
I wished I'd had known you
Wished I had shown you
All of the things I
Was all these are
But I'd pretend to be sleeping
When you'd come in in the morning
To whisper goodbye
Go work at the rain
I don't know why
Don't know why
Cause everyone's singing
We just want to be heard
Disappearing every day
Without so much as a word
So how?
Gonna grab a hold
Of that little songbird
And take her for a ride
To the top of the world
Right now
To the top of the world
@SilentBob731
Patty Griffin is a Goddess. Absolutely one of the most beautiful and tragic songs ever written.
@Irisfound
I always come back to this song every couple of years. Such a beautiful, wonderfully written song.
@guacamoleJim
I was today years old when I learned that this was a Patty Griffin song. It gave me the same chills that hearing The Chicls cover does.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@zahmmy1
Thank you, Kelly Clarkson. I love this 💗🐦
@stephanierobinson3887
you should be thanking Patti.
The brilliance of her voice and writing of this song is remarkable
@philpants44
balls to kelly clarkson.
@0samhain0
R.I.P. to a very beautiful soul
@loutruckman69
I was introduced to Patty by Mellisa Etheridge, she was on a talk show and she said this was her favorite artist. I had to listen, I bought the CD and was caught listening to it at work. My boss informed me be actually had lunch with Patty a few weeks prior after a concert and was impressed and not upset I was listening to her.
@johnnty3
patty griffin is my best friend from the first time i saw her on that guitar magazine and decided to buy her album
@joaquinangelomarcial7700
Thanks Kelly and the voice for letting me hear this song <3