song written by Patty Griffin
and most known as recorded and performed in Grammy Award
-winning fashion by the Dixie Chicks
.
Griffin wrote and recorded "Top of the World" for her would-be 2000 album Silver Bell. But a dispute with her label A&M Records
caused the album to go unreleased and Griffin to be dropped, although copies of Silver Bell circulated and increased Griffin's reputation as a songwriter within the music industry.
The Dixie Chicks, who had already treated other Griffin songs and had toured with Griffin on their 2000 Fly Tour
, recorded "Top of the World" as the concluding track on their 2002 album Home
.
"An oasis in the middle of the ocean: Office buildings, hotels, theaters and shopping centers, sitting slightly above the surface of the sea in neat rows surrounded by greenery and flowers, with canals of clear blue water, water taxis and gondolas providing transportation for the inhabitants."
"A new country that has never existed before, which will be built in a moderately tropical sea, a perfect climate, a paradise: Utopia!"
"The International University of Advanced Studies, has been founded and is dedicated to teaching the disciplines and imparting the knowledge that will be needed in the next century for survival on Earth, the colonization of the oceans, and the exploration and colonization of space. Access to classes taught by the University may be obtained over the Internet."
"New Utopia will be managed by a Board of Governors; managing what we believe to be the most perfect city/state ever conceived, blending the philosophies of both Ayn Rand and Robert Heinlein."