"Paradise" is about the devastating impact of
surface mining for coal, whereby the top layers of soil are blasted off with dynamite or dug away with steam shovels to reach a coal seam below, on
Muhlenberg County, Kentucky, the home county of Prine's parents.[1] The song references coal mining corporation
Peabody Energy and the former coal mining town of
Paradise in Muhlenberg County, where the
Tennessee Valley Authority operated the coal-fired
Paradise Fossil Plant.[2] In late 1967, Paradise was abandoned and demolished to accommodate an expansion of the power plant.[3] The TVA has since converted the Paradise Fossil Plant, now the Paradise
Combined Cycle Plant, to run on natural gas.[4]
In the final verse of "Paradise", Prine asks, "When I die, let my ashes float down the
Green River". After his death in 2020, this wish was fulfilled, and in 2022 a park by the
Rochester Dam on the Green River was dedicated to him.[5]
Notable cover versions
John Fogerty, one of many artists who have covered "Paradise," told
Acoustic Guitar in 2009 that the song was "a touchstone for people like us who decry the way corporations get to run roughshod over what may be desired by the little guy, but he’s powerless to stop it or stand in the way."[6] The most successful version of the song was by released by
Lynn Anderson in 1976, peaking at #26 on the
Billboard country chart.
Lynn Anderson recorded her version of "Paradise" for her 1976 album, All the King's Horses. The song was also released as a single and peaked at No. 26 on the US Country chart.
Pat Green &
Cory Morrow covered "Paradise" on their album Songs We Wish We'd Written, which was released in 2001.
Dwight Yoakam recorded the song on his 2004
compilation album, Dwight's Used Records. This rendition is divided into two tracks. The first track has a slower tempo, while the second track has a faster tempo.
Hayseed Dixie often include the song in their live setlist and vocalist John Wheeler (aka Barley Scotch) has referred to it on several occasions as his favorite song ever recorded.