When she was just a girl, she expected the world
But it flew away from her reach
So she ran away in her sleep and dreamed of
Para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise, para-para-paradise
Every time she closed her eyes

When she was just a girl, she expected the world
But it flew away from her reach and the bullets catch in her teeth
Life goes on, it gets so heavy
The wheel breaks the butterfly, every tear a waterfall
In the night, the stormy night, she'd close her eyes
In the night, the stormy night, away she'd fly

And dream of para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise

(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)

She'd dream of para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise

(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh)

La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
And so lying underneath those stormy skies
She'd say, "Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
I know the sun must set to rise"

This could be para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise

This could be para-para-paradise
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh)

This could be para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise

This could be para-para-paradise
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh)

This could be para-para-paradise
Para-para-paradise

This could be para-para-paradise
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh)


Lyrics submitted by vivigm6, edited by achilles890

Paradise Lyrics as written by Guy Rupert Berryman Christopher Anthony John Martin

Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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Paradise song meanings
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  • +35
    My Interpretation

    This song represents the attempts by a girl to maintain a child-like innocence in her life by dreaming. The first verse tells of a young girl who had high expectations (When she was a girl/She expected the world); these expectations could be the product of constant attention to fairy tales - expecting the world to be fair and just, where all girls can be princesses, marry their Prince Charming and live happily ever after - or simply being subject to an optimistic upbringing where the philosophy 'the world is your oyster' underpinned every lecture by parent and teacher alike. However, evidently the bar was raised too high and the expectations not reached (But it flew away from her reach) suggesting maybe a life not lived - plans not made, dreams not followed, opportunities missed, feelings not acted upon. At this the girl withdraws into her mind, acting out the life she would have led if Fate allowed her in her dreams (So she ran away in her sleep/And dreamed of para-para-paradise.../Every time she closed her eyes). The line 'The bullets catch in her teeth' indicates that in her dreamed-up paradise nothing can hurt her, nothing can go wrong. The second verse details how, as the girl grows up and matures, she faces difficulties and complications (Life goes on, gets so heavy) and some hardships she faces are enough to break her spirit (The wheel breaks the butterfly). In this line, it's assumed that the butterfly is symbolic of the girl - a beautiful and innocent creature - and the 'wheel' can be regarded as the 'Wheel of Fortune'. This was an Elizabethan Era worldview where each individual would pass around a circle from good fortune to bad fortune to good fortune and around again and so on - much like 'what goes around, comes around'. Therefore it's said that the 'wheel of fortune' has turned and the girl has met with misfortune and has had extreme physical or emotional difficulty in moving past it (Every tear a waterfall). But she perseveres and finds comfort and distraction in her dreams (In the night, the stormy night/She closed her eyes.../Away she'd fly/And dream of para-para-paradise). In the final verse, the girl is depicted 'lying under stormy skies' which could be a metaphor for her life's struggles or if taken literally, could act as a piece of pathetic fallacy. Her response to the storm - 'I know the sun is set to rise.' - reinforces her sense of optimism in life, allowing herself to believe that though her battle is great at the moment, the wheel will turn full circle, the sun will rise and she'll reach a level of peace in her life - her paradise. The last lines of the song - 'This could be para-para-paradise' - could reflect a changed mindset in the girl; for a while she had been languishing over her misfortune and finding solace in her dreams at night however, the words 'This could be' suggest uncertainty - that she's toying with the notion that changing a part of her life, altering some aspect of her existence will produce a positive outcome and maybe turn her unfortunate life into her paradise.

    amykmozeson September 28, 2011   Link

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