To me, this song is about development. Development of land for financial gain, evangelization of people, and the ignorance we show towards both.
"Down in the crowded bars,
out for a good time,
Can't wait to tell you all,
what it's like up there
And they called it paradise
I don't know why
Somebody laid the mountains low
while the town got high"
To me, this is about the desecration of the environment, and how we humans choose to ignore it. The "laying low" of the mountains is probably about mining or logging, and how the people in the towns just drink to celebrate the end of the weeks work. They drown their sorrows in drink and drugs, and ignore the damage they are doing.
"Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus,
people bought 'em
And they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea"
Is pretty self-explanatory. Development, the destroying of the land and the building of homes, offices and shops. Calling it paradise, because it's a nice home, ad watching the hazy sun, possibly hazy because of pollution. This seems to be a very sarcastic lyric.
"You can leave it all behind
and sail to Lahaina
just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming"
Brought the white man's burden down
Brought the white man's reign"
This takes a place like Lahaina, which really is paradise (I went there a few years back, so I'm not just shooting my mouth off here), and it's people with their culture, and evangelising them, to make them like everyone else. It's the development of a culture, which destroyed what was natural and beautiful about them.
"Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
'Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here"
This sounds very angry. It talks about how there's no "new frontier" for us to explore, and because of that we can't move on from the mess we've made...we have to make it here.
"And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about
what it's like up there
They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye"
This is about Church-goers. Possibly the miners and loggers, the rich men who raped the land, and the people who bought from them, and the missionaries.
At Church on Sunday morning, singing about getting into heaven, which is sometimes called Paradise, and how wonderful it will be up there, after they've died.
However, as the song has shown, all the places we've called paradise we've managed to destroy, in favour of a man-made paradise.
"They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye"
In a religious context, this states that calling the afterlife paradise is a misnomer. All the places we've called paradise we have destroyed, and therefore, hoping to get into heaven is unjustified, as we don't deserve it. After having called some place paradise, and kissed it goodbye, the same should then happen with our hopes of getting into heaven.
This is one of the only Eagles songs I like (the other being Try And Love Again), and I just LOVE it.
It's also my Dad's favourite song, and it's so powerful and emotional, it makes me want to cry every time I hear it.
It's an absolute masterpiece; musically, lyrically and vocally. I am yet to hear a better song by this band.
@Arianrhod I agree 100 % except that I like almost all Eagles songs. But this one is way more powerful than all the others.
Probably because it is a lot like my own life. It is mainly from the simplistic start to the massive build-up.
@Arianrhod I agree 100 % except that I like almost all Eagles songs. But this one is way more powerful than all the others.
Probably because it is a lot like my own life. It is mainly from the simplistic start to the massive build-up.
@Arianrhod I very much accept your interpretation of the lyrics. I can't say that I fully agree with you.
@Arianrhod I very much accept your interpretation of the lyrics. I can't say that I fully agree with you.
It's no secret that this song addresses the destructive result of progress. My sense, though, is that the song conveys optimism - perhaps not nearly enough, but it's there. The words serve as a reminder of what we've done wrong, sure. And in reminding us of our shame, we must choose to remind and commit ourselves - tof what we've done right.
It's no secret that this song addresses the destructive result of progress. My sense, though, is that the song conveys optimism - perhaps not nearly enough, but it's there. The words serve as a reminder of what we've done wrong, sure. And in reminding us of our shame, we must choose to remind and commit ourselves - tof what we've done right.
To me, this song is about development. Development of land for financial gain, evangelization of people, and the ignorance we show towards both.
"Down in the crowded bars, out for a good time, Can't wait to tell you all, what it's like up there And they called it paradise I don't know why Somebody laid the mountains low while the town got high"
To me, this is about the desecration of the environment, and how we humans choose to ignore it. The "laying low" of the mountains is probably about mining or logging, and how the people in the towns just drink to celebrate the end of the weeks work. They drown their sorrows in drink and drugs, and ignore the damage they are doing.
"Some rich men came and raped the land, Nobody caught 'em Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em And they called it paradise The place to be They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea"
Is pretty self-explanatory. Development, the destroying of the land and the building of homes, offices and shops. Calling it paradise, because it's a nice home, ad watching the hazy sun, possibly hazy because of pollution. This seems to be a very sarcastic lyric.
"You can leave it all behind and sail to Lahaina just like the missionaries did, so many years ago They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming" Brought the white man's burden down Brought the white man's reign"
This takes a place like Lahaina, which really is paradise (I went there a few years back, so I'm not just shooting my mouth off here), and it's people with their culture, and evangelising them, to make them like everyone else. It's the development of a culture, which destroyed what was natural and beautiful about them.
"Who will provide the grand design? What is yours and what is mine? 'Cause there is no more new frontier We have got to make it here"
This sounds very angry. It talks about how there's no "new frontier" for us to explore, and because of that we can't move on from the mess we've made...we have to make it here.
"And you can see them there, On Sunday morning They stand up and sing about what it's like up there They call it paradise I don't know why You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye"
This is about Church-goers. Possibly the miners and loggers, the rich men who raped the land, and the people who bought from them, and the missionaries. At Church on Sunday morning, singing about getting into heaven, which is sometimes called Paradise, and how wonderful it will be up there, after they've died. However, as the song has shown, all the places we've called paradise we've managed to destroy, in favour of a man-made paradise.
"They call it paradise I don't know why You call someplace paradise, kiss it goodbye"
In a religious context, this states that calling the afterlife paradise is a misnomer. All the places we've called paradise we have destroyed, and therefore, hoping to get into heaven is unjustified, as we don't deserve it. After having called some place paradise, and kissed it goodbye, the same should then happen with our hopes of getting into heaven.
This is one of the only Eagles songs I like (the other being Try And Love Again), and I just LOVE it. It's also my Dad's favourite song, and it's so powerful and emotional, it makes me want to cry every time I hear it. It's an absolute masterpiece; musically, lyrically and vocally. I am yet to hear a better song by this band.
@Arianrhod I agree 100 % except that I like almost all Eagles songs. But this one is way more powerful than all the others. Probably because it is a lot like my own life. It is mainly from the simplistic start to the massive build-up.
@Arianrhod I agree 100 % except that I like almost all Eagles songs. But this one is way more powerful than all the others. Probably because it is a lot like my own life. It is mainly from the simplistic start to the massive build-up.
@Arianrhod I very much accept your interpretation of the lyrics. I can't say that I fully agree with you.
@Arianrhod I very much accept your interpretation of the lyrics. I can't say that I fully agree with you.
It's no secret that this song addresses the destructive result of progress. My sense, though, is that the song conveys optimism - perhaps not nearly enough, but it's there. The words serve as a reminder of what we've done wrong, sure. And in reminding us of our shame, we must choose to remind and commit ourselves - tof what we've done right.
It's no secret that this song addresses the destructive result of progress. My sense, though, is that the song conveys optimism - perhaps not nearly enough, but it's there. The words serve as a reminder of what we've done wrong, sure. And in reminding us of our shame, we must choose to remind and commit ourselves - tof what we've done right.
@Arianrhod So people don't deserve Paradise for building a home? What a stupid song.
@Arianrhod So people don't deserve Paradise for building a home? What a stupid song.