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Paradise Lyrics

Artist: John Denver
Album: Rocky Mountain High

This song was first released on the Rocky Mountain High album. It is the only album it has been released on.

When I was a child, my family would travel
Down to western Kentucky where my parents were born
And there's a backwards old town that's often remembered
So many times that my mem'ries are worn

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

Well sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

And the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

And daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
Well, I'm sorry, my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away

Words and music by John Prine

Comments/Interpretations

by MadeinParadise on 7/3/2008 6:21pm
This song was not wrote by John Denver. It was wrote by John Prine. Do your research

by KingsEnglish on 9/22/2008 10:10pm
Wrote??

by Charles Edward Sumner on 12/9/2008 12:39am
My dad was born in Mulenburg County. I remember going down to the green river when I was young(late 5o's-early 60's.

by ziggy on 6/2/2009 8:05pm
This is the first song I learned all the words to as a child by JD. What a great folk song! Not enough credit is given to this song....All songs sung by John Denver are Master Pieces!!!

by BIGGUY on 1/11/2010 10:58pm
SORRY THIS HAS BEEN COVERED MANY TIMES AND JOHN PRINE WROTE IT

by passed remedial english on 4/13/2010 6:15am
when you're from ky does it mean that you must misuse english and have a step ladder to enter your pickup?? get a third grade education first then you can comment on the song--good grief!!--god help us!!!!

by BlueJohn on 4/25/2012 1:19am
If MadeinParadise had bothered to look at the entry properly he/she/it would have seen that it clearly states 'Words and music by John Prine'. So it would seem that whoever submitted the lyrics did do their research. Interesting use of English language though.

by Dani-Allison on 8/24/2012 7:33pm
Yeah, I was suprised, sort of, that John Denver wrote this song. But no, it's Prine! I remember the first time I heard it was sometime in '99 or thereabout. Gt was the song played ain the end of the movie Fire Down Below starred by Steven Seagal. As the cast came up I looked for tie name of the song and found John Prine. Gt was really clear so it looked like John Price to me. I'm madly in love with this song. Cheers from Migeria.

by RandyD on 4/9/2013 3:30pm
WOuld like to learn this song on my banjo. Does anyone know what key the song in in?

by scooter on 6/14/2013 4:29pm
I am 60 now. I was living in Denver when Mr John became popular. So what if Mr Prine wrote it? How many artist have used somebody else's lyrics? I know a lot of country performers have. I also am sure a lot of rockers have too. Bob Dylan Has written a lot of songs you don't even know about. Good song though. Very down home if you ever been in that part of the world.