"Paradise" is a song written by

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

for his father, and recorded for his 1971 debut album, ''John Prine''. Prine also re-recorded the song for his 1986 album, ''

German Afternoons ''German Afternoons'' is the ninth album by American folk singer and songwriter John Prine, released in 1986. Recording ''German Afternoons'' was Prine's second release on Oh Boy Records, the independent label he formed with his manager Al Bunett ...

''.

Background

The song is about the devastating impact of

strip mining Surface mining, including strip mining, open-pit mining and mountaintop removal mining, is a broad category of mining in which soil and rock overlying the mineral deposit (the overburden) are removed, in contrast to underground mining, in which ...

for coal, whereby the top layers of soil are blasted off with dynamite or dug away with steam shovels to reach the coal seam below. The song is also about what happened to the area around the

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada * Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

in Kentucky because of strip mining. The song references the

Peabody Coal Company Peabody Energy is a coal mining and energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Its primary business consists of the mining, sale, and distribution of coal, which is purchased for use in electricity generation and steelmaking. Peabody ...

, and a town called

Paradise In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

Muhlenberg County Muhlenberg County () is a County (United States), county in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 30,928. Its county seat is Greenville, Kentucky, Greenville. History Muhlenberg ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, where the

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolina ...

operated the

Paradise Fossil Plant The Paradise Combined Cycle Plant (formerly known as Paradise Fossil Plant) is a natural gas power plant operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Located just east of Drakesboro, Kentucky, it was the highest power capacity power plant ...

, a coal-fired electric generating station. The area has suffered serious economic downturn because of the decline of coal mining, caused mainly by the abundance of natural gas. Paradise Fossil Plant Units 1 and 2 went on-line in 1963 and were retired in 2017; Unit 3 went on-line in 1970 and was retired in 2020. In the song Prine asks to have his ashes dispersed on the Green River. After his death in 2020 this wish was fulfilled. TVA replaced the Fossil Plant with the natural-gas fired Paradise Combined Cycle Plant.

Notable cover versions

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...

, one of the scores of artists who have covered "Paradise," told ''Acoustic Guitar'' magazine in a 2009 interview that "Paradise" is "a touchstone for people like us who decry the way corporations get to run roughshod over what may be desired by the little guy, but he’s powerless to stop it or stand in the way." The most successful chart-wise version of the song was by

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...

in 1976, peaking at #26 on the ''Billboard'' country chart. *

Jackie DeShannon Jackie DeShannon (born Sharon Lee Myers, August 21, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songw ...

recorded her version of "Paradise" for her 1972 album, ''Jackie'', on Atlantic Records. *

John Denver Henry John Deutschendorf Jr. (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, activist, and humanitarian whose greatest commercial success was as a solo singe ...

released a cover of "Paradise" on his 1972 album, ''

Rocky Mountain High "Rocky Mountain High" is a folk rock song written by John Denver and Mike Taylor and is one of the two official state songs of Colorado. Recorded by Denver in 1972 it is the title track of the 1972 album '' Rocky Mountain High'' and rose to No. ...

''. *

Tom T. Hall Thomas Hall (May 25, 1936 – August 20, 2021), known professionally as Tom T. Hall and informally nicknamed "the Storyteller," was an American country music singer-songwriter and short-story author. He wrote 12 No. 1 hit songs, with 26 more ...

recorded his version of "Paradise" for his 1976 album, ''The Magnificent Music Machine''. *

Jim and Jesse Jim & Jesse were an American bluegrass music duo composed of brothers Jim McReynolds (February 13, 1927 – December 31, 2002) and Jesse McReynolds (born July 9, 1929). The two were born and raised in Carfax, a community near Coeburn, Virginia, ...

recorded and performed the song in the early 1970s. *

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

, natives of Muhlenberg County, recorded a version for their 1973 album ''

Pass the Chicken & Listen ''Pass the Chicken & Listen'' is an album by The Everly Brothers, released in 1972. It was the last studio recording the brothers made for over 10 years. It was re-released on CD by One Way Records in 1997. In 2014 it was reissued as a twofer CD ...

''. *

The Country Gentlemen The Country Gentlemen was a progressive bluegrass band that originated during the 1950s in the area of Washington, D.C., United States, and recorded and toured with various members until the death in 2004 of Charlie Waller (American musician), C ...

recorded a version for their 1973 album ''The Country Gentlemen''. *

The Seldom Scene The Seldom Scene is an American bluegrass band that formed in 1971 in Bethesda, Maryland. The band's original line-up comprised John Starling on lead vocals and guitar, Mike Auldridge on Dobro and baritone vocals, Ben Eldridge on banjo, Tom Gra ...

recorded versions for their 1973 album ''Act II'' and for their 2014 album '' Long Time... Seldom Scene''. *

recorded her version of "Paradise" for her 1976 album, '' All the King's Horses''. The song was also released as a single and peaked at No. 26 on the US Country chart. *

Roy Acuff Roy Claxton Acuff (September 15, 1903 – November 23, 1992) was an American country music singer, fiddler, and promoter. Known as the "King of Country Music", Acuff is often credited with moving the genre from its early string band and "hoedown ...

recorded "Paradise" in 1980. * A cover recorded by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

was used in the soundtrack of the 1981 TV movie ''

The Pride of Jesse Hallam ''The Pride of Jesse Hallam'' is a 1981 American made-for-television drama film starring Johnny Cash and Brenda Vaccaro. It originally aired March 3, 1981 on CBS. Plot Jesse Hallam is a coal miner in Muhlenberg, Kentucky, whose wife has recentl ...

'', which starred Cash in the title role. This version was later released on the compilation album ''

Personal File ''Personal File'' is the 92nd album by American music icon Johnny Cash. The two CD set was released posthumously on May 23, 2006, by Legacy Recordings. ''Personal File'' contains 49 unreleased tracks on two CDs recorded between 1973 and 1982. Given ...

''. * "Paradise" was the end credit song for the film '' Fire Down Below''. *

Tim Flannery Timothy Fridtjof Flannery (born 28 January 1956) is an Australian mammalogist, palaeontologist, environmentalist, Conservation biology, conservationist, Exploration, explorer, author, Science communication, science communicator, activist and p ...

, former baseball player, recorded a version of "Paradise" on his 1999 album ''Pieces of the Past''. *

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

has played "Paradise" twice in concert, in 2002 at

Riverbend Music Center Riverbend Music Center is an outdoor amphitheater located in Cincinnati, Ohio, along the banks of the Ohio River. It has a capacity of 20,500 (6,000 reserved pavilion seats and 14,500 general admission lawn) and was built for the Cincinnati Sympho ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

and again in 2008 at Riverbend. The 2008 Riverbend recording appears on Buffett's 2010 CD '' Encores''. *

Pat Green Patrick Craven Green (born April 5, 1972) is an American Texas Country artist. Active since 1995, he has recorded a total of seven studio albums, including several independent works, three for Republic Records and two for BNA. Fifteen of his s ...

& Cory Morrow covered "Paradise" on their album ''Songs We Wish We'd Written'', which was released in 2001. *

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and film director. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album '' Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerab ...

recorded the song on his 2004

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

, ''

Dwight's Used Records ''Dwight's Used Records'' is a compilation album by American country music artist Dwight Yoakam. It was released by Audium Records on June 29, 2004. The album peaked at number 57 on the ''Billboard'' Top Country Albums chart. Recording The album ...

''. This rendition is divided into two tracks. The first track has a slower tempo, while the second track has a faster tempo. *

Hayseed Dixie Hayseed Dixie is an American band formed in Nashville, Tennessee in 2000. Their first album was ''A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC''. The band performs bluegrass cover versions of hard rock songs and also original songs of a mostly satirical or absu ...

often include the song in their live setlist and vocalist John Wheeler (aka Barley Scotch) has referred to it on several occasions as his favorite song ever recorded. *

recorded a version as the lead off track for his 2009 album ''

The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again ''The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again'' is the eighth solo studio album by American roots rock singer-songwriter and guitarist John Fogerty, first released on September 1, 2009, on Fogerty's own label, Fortunate Son Records and distributed by Ver ...

''. *

John Kadlecik John Kadlecik (born June 28, 1969 in Council Bluffs, Iowa) is an American guitarist. He was a founding member as the lead guitarist for the Grateful Dead tribute band, Dark Star Orchestra, in 1997. From 2009 to 2014 he performed with original De ...

performed this live in an acoustic performance 2011-06-22 at the

New Deal Cafe The New Deal Cafe is a restaurant, music venue and community Coffeehouse, coffee house in the historic Roosevelt Center of Greenbelt, Maryland. It is a rare example of a restaurant operated as a consumers' cooperative, as it is owned by over 200 ...

. * Jamestown Revival recorded the song as the second song on their 2013 EP ''California'' *

Sturgill Simpson John Sturgill Simpson (born June 8, 1978) is an American country music singer-songwriter and actor. As of February 2022, he has released seven albums as a solo artist. His first two albums, '' High Top Mountain'' and '' Metamodern Sounds in Cou ...

released a cover of the song in 2021 as a single from his upcoming Prine tribute album, ''Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows Vol. 2.''

References

External links

Lyrics
{{Authority control Lynn Anderson songs John Denver songs 1971 singles John Prine songs American folk songs Songs written by John Prine Atlantic Records singles Songs about Kentucky Muhlenberg County, Kentucky 1971 songs Environmental songs Peabody Energy