| A View from the Top of the World | |
| A View from the Top of the World | |
| Length | 20:24 |
| Working title | N/A |
| Release date | October 22nd, 2021 |
| Lyrics | John Petrucci |
| Music | Dream Theater |
| First live performance | Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ, USA, on Feb. 2, 2022 |
| Total live plays | 98 |
| Recorded | DTHQ |
| Other appearances | |
| Previous song | Awaken the Master |
| Next song | 16th Album |
A View from the Top of the World is the seventh and final track on Dream Theater's fifteenth studio album, A View from the Top of the World. It is by far the longest track on the album, beating Sleeping Giant by 10 minutes and 19 seconds.
It is also the sixth song released by the band that passes 20 minutes in length, and the first title track released by the band since Octavarium.
John Petrucci recorded this song using a 7-string guitar in standard tuning (B-E-A-D-G-B-E).
Lyrics[]
[I. The Crowning Glory] The fire that burns within us To carry out a dream Chasing new ambitions Determined to succeed To stretch beyond our limits To blaze a brand new trail Bold enough to conquer Brave enough to fail Sheer determination Taking nerves of steel Always digging deeper Danger all too real To rise above the challenge To push to the extreme To the daring, there can be no in between See a view from the top of the world Take a ride on the crest of a wave The adrenaline rush over and over again See a view from the top of the world All my natural instincts Are begging me to stop But somehow I carry on Heading for the top A physical absurdity A tremendous mental game Helping me understand Exactly who I am To face a new adventure To conquer the insane Lured into madness Addicted to the pain Reaching for the summit On the threshold of defeat Rightfully joining The ranks of the elite See a view from the top of the world Feel the wind on the edge of the sky Take a chance you may die, over and over again See a view from the top of the world [II. Rapture of the Deep] I begin the blind descent To a place no one has seen Returning to the womb On the fringe of the unknown A journey into darkness beckons me Like a blind man in a maze Who somehow finds an open door The beauty and the danger And the yearning to explore Always keeps me coming back for more [III. The Driving Force] The moment that you recognize just where your limits lie Hanging on the brink of death You're never more alive When you reach the pinnacle The world is at your feet Welcome to the mind unleashed The impossible is never out of reach When barriers are broken, greatness is achieved Self-belief will build a life of legacy
Trivia[]
Before the release of the album, John Myung spoke in an interview with Revolver Magazine about how difficult learning and playing the title track is:
"What makes this a challenge to play for me would be that it's a 20-minute epic, so the memorization aspect is the first part of the challenge. And then there are certain sections that I have to focus on. For instance, there is a classical Mozart-like section that happens in the second half of the song. It's the type of part that definitely takes a bit of practice, when taken out of context it turns into a cool little exercise all by itself."