The song Paradise City (“Paradise City”) from the album Appetite for Destruction was the first composition written jointly by the musicians of Guns N’ Roses. All five members of the first line-up are officially listed as co-authors of the song.
Let’s remember how the famous hit was born, with which the legendary band completed their concert performances for many years.
Paradise City Song Story
According to Duff McKagan, he originally had sketches of the text in a notebook. Allegedly, he showed them to his colleagues even before they composed the music.
Slash said that the song originated in a rented van when they were returning from a rock concert in San Francisco. Resting after the performance, they mixed alcohol with improvisations on acoustic guitars. In the process of jamming, Slash had an intro to the future track. Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan played along, Axl Rose sang “Take me down to the paradise city” and Slash added “Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty”.
When Axl sang the opening line one more time, Slash offered another variation:
“Take me down to the Paradise City where the girls are fat and they got big titties” [«Увези меня в райский город, где девушки толстые и с большими сиськами» прим. пер.], – I think that was my original text, but the guys changed it. We all thought it was funny, but it didn’t fit the album.
Fuse, 2012
The musicians gradually composed the rest of the lyrics of the Paradise City song during rehearsals. The composition is similar in meaning to Welcome to the Jungle. It is dedicated to the cruel customs prevailing on the streets of Los Angeles and other American cities.
Axl Rose explained the main idea of the composition:
…the couplets are more about being in the jungle; the chorus is about going back to the Midwest or somewhere.
Hit Parader 1988
Jake Quirie, a friend of Axl’s, told 93.1 WIBC FM radio that the phrase about green grass and pretty girls came from Rose’s memories of family trips to Bloomington, Indiana.
Release and achievements
In the US, Paradise City was released as a single in November 1988. British music lovers were able to buy the record in March 1989. The track peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and number six on the UK Singles Chart. It also topped the Irish IRMA charts and charted high in New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and several other countries.
The composition was included in the ratings of the best songs, including The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (Rolling Stone), 40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time (VH1) and 100 Greatest Solos of All Time (Total Guitar).
Paradise City video
The Paradise City music video for Guns N’ Roses, directed by Nigel Dick, was filmed during two of the band’s concerts: during a joint performance with Aerosmith at Giants Stadium in New Jersey and at the Monsters of Rock festival in Donington Park.
Interesting Facts
- Guitarist Andy McCoy of the Hanoi Rocks claimed that Paradise City’s chorus is a slowed down version of the riff from their song Lost in the City.
- Slash has said that Paradise City is his favorite Guns N’ Roses song.
- Shooting the Paradise City video cost two hundred thousand dollars.
- This is the only track on the album Appetite for Destruction with a bright synth part.
- A city was named after the song in the Xbox 360 game Burnout, and the composition became its main theme song.
- The composition is often played in stadiums during sports matches.
- In 2012, while Guns N’ Roses was staying at the Hard Rock Casino Hotel, Las Vegas, the local Paradise Road was temporarily renamed Paradise City Road.
Paradise City Lyrics
Chorus x2:
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
take me home
(Oh won’t you please take me home)
Just a urchin livin’ under the street
I’m a hard case that’s tough to beat
I’m your charity case
So buy me something to eat
I’ll pay you at another time
Take it to the end of the line
Rags to riches or so they say
Ya gotta keep pushin’ for the fortune and fame
You know it’s all a gamble when it’s just a game
I treat it like a capital crime
Everybody’s doin’ the time
Chorus x2
Strapped in the chair of the city’s gas chamber
Why I’m here I can’t quite remember
The surgeon general says it’s hazardous to breathe
I’d have another cigarette but I can’t see
Tell me who you’re gonna believe
Chorus x2
So far away x4
Captain America’s been torn apart
Now he’s a court jester with a broken heart
He said “Turn me around and take me back to the start”
I must be losing my mind”
Are you blind?
I’ve seen it all a million times
Chorus x4
I wanna go, I wanna know
Oh won’t you please take me home
I wanna see how good it can be
Oh won’t you please take me home
Chorus x2
Take me down, spin me ’round
Oh won’t you please take me home
I wanna see what a woman can be
I want to take you home
Chorus
I wanna go, I wanna know
Oh won’t you please take me home
Paradise City Lyrics
Chorus – 2 times
Take me to heavenly city
Where the grass is green and the girls are cute
take me home
(Oh please take me home)
Just a ragamuffin living in a ditch
I’m a tough nut, I can’t be beaten
I’m fit for your charity
So buy me something to eat
I’ll pay another time
I’ll leave this for the very end.
From rags to riches, or as they say
You have to work hard to get rich and famous
You know it’s all a lottery when it’s just a game
For you it’s like a serious crime
But everyone is already winding the term
Chorus – 2 times
I’m tied to a chair in the gas chamber
But I don’t remember exactly why I’m here
Ministry of Health1 warns that it is dangerous to breathe
I would smoke a cigarette but I can’t see anything
Tell me who are you willing to believe
Chorus – 2 times
He is so far – 4 times
Captain America was torn apart
Now he’s a broken-hearted court jester
He said, “Unroll me and take me back to the start,
I must be going crazy”
Are you blind?
I’ve seen it all a million times
Chorus – 4 times
I want to leave, I want to know
Oh please take me home
I want to see how good it can be
Oh please take me home
Chorus – 2 times
Take me, take me
Oh please take me home
I want to see what a woman can be
I want to take you home
Chorus
I want to leave, I want to know
Oh please take me home
