"Amish Paradise" is a 1996 single by satirist

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

. It is a parody of the hip hop song "

Gangsta's Paradise "Gangsta's Paradise" is a single by American rapper Coolio. Interpolating Stevie Wonder's 1976 song "Pastime Paradise", and featuring American singer L.V., the single was released on August 1, 1995. Certified Platinum in October, the song wa ...

" by

Coolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...

featuring L.V. (which itself is a reworking of the

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

song "

Pastime Paradise "Pastime Paradise" is a song by American musician Stevie Wonder, from the 1976 album ''Songs in the Key of Life''. The song was one of the first to use a synthesizer (the Yamaha GX-1) to sound like a full string section. Built initially from s ...

"). Featured on the album '' Bad Hair Day'', it turns the original "Gangsta's Paradise", in which the narrator laments his dangerous way of life, on its head by presenting an Amish man praising his relatively plain and uncomplicated existence.

Track listing

# "Amish Paradise" – 3:20 # "Everything You Know Is Wrong" – 3:46 # " The Night Santa Went Crazy (Extra Gory Version)" – 3:59 # "

Dare to Be Stupid ''Dare to Be Stupid'' is the third studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former The McCoys, McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March ...

(Instrumental)" – 3:25

Coolio's response

Yankovic sought permission from Coolio before making "Amish Paradise", offering a percentage of the revenues. Yankovic was given rights to use the song by the record company (non-exclusive rights holders), but not by Coolio himself, who, when presented with Weird Al's offer, declined. Yankovic later stated on

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...

's '' Behind the Music'' that he had written a sincere letter of apology to Coolio, which was never returned, and that Coolio never complained when he received his

royalty Royalty may refer to: * Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc. * Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family * Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...

check from proceeds of the song. A series of photos taken at the XM Satellite Radio booth at the 2006

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

suggests that Yankovic and Coolio had made amends. Coolio stated in a 2014 interview that the decision to refuse the parody at the time was "stupid" and he wished that someone on his management had stopped him, and then considered the final parody to be "funny". During an interview with Sean Evans on ''

Hot Ones ''Hot Ones'' is an American YouTube talk show, created by Christopher Schonberger and Sean Evans and produced by First We Feast and Complex Media. Its basic premise involves celebrities being interviewed by Evans over a platter of increasingly sp ...

'' in 2016, Coolio further expressed regret for how he initially responded to "Amish Paradise". "In hindsight, it was stupid of me to say something about ankovicdoing a parody of 'Gangsta's Paradise'," he said. "I mean, he did Michael Jackson, he did Prince. You know, people who were definitely more talented than I am. I think Prince did say something... but he wasn't very vocal about it like I was. And it just made me look dumb... It was one of the dumb things I did. And I'm willing to admit I did something stupid."

Music video

Weird Al directed the music video for "Amish Paradise" himself, as he has done for many of his music videos since 1986. The music video for "Amish Paradise" closely mirrors the "Gangsta's Paradise" music video, although several concepts have been parodied. The video also features Florence Henderson as the

Michelle Pfeiffer Michelle Marie Pfeiffer (; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress and producer. A prolific performer whose List of Michelle Pfeiffer performances, screen work spans over four decades, she became one of Hollywood's most bankable stars and ...

character in the original video.

Chart performance

Rerecording

In 2022, for the film '' Weird: The Al Yankovic Story'', Yankovic rerecorded the track, as well as four others. In the film, Yankovic's father reveals that he was raised Amish, and Yankovic finds a lyric sheet written by his father called "Amish Paradise" and decides to perform the song.

References

External links

Amish Paradise On SpotifyWeird Al's Official Page
* {{Authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs American hip hop songs Amish in popular culture Comedy rap songs Music controversies Music videos directed by "Weird Al" Yankovic Satirical songs Scotti Brothers Records singles Songs about religion Songs with lyrics by "Weird Al" Yankovic Songs written by Coolio Songs written by Stevie Wonder "Weird Al" Yankovic songs