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)
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, it's all a gamble when it's just a game
Ya treat it like a capital crime
Everybody's doin' the time

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home

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

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home, yeah yeah

So far away
So far away
So far away
So far away

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

Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home, yeah yeah
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home

I wanna go, I wanna go
Oh, won't you please take me home
I wanna see how good it can be
Oh, won't you please take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Take me home
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home
Take me down, lead me 'round
Oh, won't you please take me home

I wanna see, what a woman can be
Oh, won't you please take me home
I wanna see, what a woman can be (oh, oh take me home)
Take me down to the paradise city
Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
Oh, won't you please take me home
I wanna go, I wanna know
Oh, won't you please take me home, yeah baby


Lyrics submitted by mike

Paradise City Lyrics as written by Izzy Stradlin Hudson Slash

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Paradise City song meanings
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    Song Meaning

    This song is about Axl Rose reflecting on his childhood, up-bringing and home town: Lafayette, Indiana. At the age of 16, Axl (then William Bruce Bailey) was made homeless by his parents as he refused to cut his hair. The line, "Just an urchin livin' under the street, I'm a hard case that's tough to beat, I'm your charity case so buy me somethin' to eat- I'll pay you at another time. Take it to the end of the line" refers to the time he spent on the streets, with no money or food. The line "Ragz to richez or so they say, ya gotta-keep pushin' for the fortune and fame. It's all a gamble when it's just a game, ya treat it like a capital crime. Evrybody's doin' their time" refers to the conversations he'd had with his parents about his dreams and ambitions of moving to LA and becoming a rock star, they were unsupportive and told him 'horror stories' about what happened to people in LA. This is also the meaning behind the line "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 ya gonna believe"- his 'father' (he later discovered that Bailey wasn't his real father) discouraged him from moving and tried to convince him that he'd never succeed. The phrase "Paradise City" is in refference to his home town Lafayette, Indiana- he's reflecting on its beauty.

    BethLovesGNRon May 19, 2011   Link

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