Top of the World

Top of the World” is a 1972 song written and composed by Richard
Carpenter and John Bettis and first recorded by American pop duo
Carpenters. It was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit for the duo for two
consecutive weeks in 1973. Carpenters originally intended the song to
be only an album cut. However, after country singer Lynn Anderson
covered the song and it became a number two hit on the country charts,
they reconsidered. Originally recorded for and released on the duo’s
1972 studio album A Song for You, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100
singles chart in late 1973, becoming the duo’s second of three No. 1
singles, following “(They Long to Be) Close to You” and preceding
“Please Mr. Postman.” Karen Carpenter re-recorded it for the band’s
first compilation as she was not quite satisfied with the original. In
Japan, it was used as the opening theme song for the 1995 Japanese drama
Miseinen. In 2003, another drama, Beginner, had it as its ending theme
song. It is heard in Shrek Forever After as Shrek enjoys being a “real
ogre” and terrifying the villagers, as well as in a prominent scene of
the 2012 film Dark Shadows, where a performance by the Carpenters is
seen on a television screen. It has been used as the opening song of the
Season 2, Episode 1 of Netflix series After Life.