Paradise City

"Paradise City" is a song written by the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. It is included on the 1987 album Appetite for Destruction and was released as a single in 1988. It is also the only song on the album to use a synthesizer. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, the third single of the band's to go Top 10. Slash had written this song on a tour bus and later said many times that it is his favourite Guns N' Roses song. Los Angeles was the primary inspiration for the song. Axl Rose told in an interview to "Hit Parader" magazine in 1988, that "the verses are more about being in the jungle; the chorus is like being back in the Midwest or somewhere." The opening lines of the chorus were different according to Slash: "Take me down to the Paradise City where the girls are fat and they got big titties". He explained, "I think that was my original lyric for it and the other guys changed it. We all thought it was funny but it wasn't going to make it on the album." Paradise Road street in Las Vegas was temporarily renamed to Paradise City Road after this song when Guns N' Roses stayed at the hotel on that street during their visit to the city for a concert. The Xbox 360 game "Burnout: Paradise" takes place in the city named after this song, and "Paradise City" is the game's theme song. This song is performed by Tom Cruise's character at the beginning of the musical film "Rock of Ages" (2012) and it also appears in the film's end credits and soundtrack.

Guns N' Roses Lyrics "Paradise City" [Chorus] 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? [Verse 1] Just an urchin living 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 and riches, or so they say, you gotta Keep pushing for the fortune and fame You know it's, it's all a gamble when it's just a game You treat it like a capital crime, everybody's doing the time [Chorus] 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 [Verse 2] 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] 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, oh yeah [Guitar Solo] [Bridge] So far–away So far–away So far–away So far–away [Verse 3] 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] 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, home [Outro] 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? 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 Oh, won't you please take me home? Take me down (oh yeah), spin me 'round Oh, won't you please take me home? I wanna see, how good it can be Oh, won't you please take me home? I wanna see, how good it can be 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? Baby