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Where the old world shadows hang heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea
She heard about a place people were smilin'
They spoke about the red man's way, and how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand or a place to hide
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
Then the chilly winds blew down across the desert
Through the canyons of the coast, to the Malibu
Where the pretty people play, hungry for power
To light their neon way and give them things to do
Some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought them
And they called it paradise the place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea
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
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
We satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds,
In the name of destiny and in the name of God
And you can see them there, on Sunday morning
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
Thanks William. I still call you the Last Resort.
I just decided to listen to it a few days ago, I don’t know why. I was blown away when I heard Lahaina in the lyrics. I had forgotten it was mentioned.
Isn’t it so strange, and often so sad, that history repeats itself and seems forgotten, but was mentioned in song so long ago.
This song has always brought a tear to my eye. More-so now.
Me, too. Heard it first in a normally rowdy college dorm room. My roommate brought it home early on a Saturday afternoon. Closed the door and the curtains and listened in silence.
Still brings the goosebumps.
PS: LOVE the button-down white shirts and neckties in the Wikipedia photo!
For what it's worth I toured with em for ages in the seventies and I have nothing terrible to say. I guess you could say the usual ups and downs one would expect for touring with one of the world's most popular bands... Pretty interesting times. Lightning in a bottle if there ever was some.
Cancel That, the pretentious lyrics and awful singing change this to a rare one for me. I like some of the other songs on the album, but not this one.
Pretentious: "making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing)"
I'm curious: What do you find pretentious in those lyrics? Did mountains not get laid low? Did rich men not rape the land? And the missionaries? Did they not have a clear role in cultural genocide of the Indigenous people? Were slaves not brought to work in the plantations? History tells us that is exactly what happened.
Or do you find it pretentious to talk about how we humans "satisfy our endless needs and justify our bloody deeds"? That seems to be an apt description of our consumerist society.
Someone pointed to the fact that Henley owns multiple houses, and flies places. How does that relate to the lyrics? Does Henley not put his money where his mouth is?
According to the Wikipedia article, in 1990, Henley founded the Walden Woods Project to protect Walden from development. (He won the 2019 Global Environmental Award for his work on this project. Henley also co-founded the non-profit Caddo Lake Institute in 1993 to further ecological education and research.
As to his singing, you may not like his voice, but "awful singing"--sounds like an unjustified claim to me.
Whoa, the Wikipedia entry here links to the wrong Eagles. Don, Glenn and company didn't originate in Bristol, England!
A lot of things originate from here...
We call you radio paradise for a reason.
We can never kiss you goodbye.
Anyone who rates this song less than a 5 is probably listening to the wrong radio station.
Nope, we just like different things. I like Hold Tight by Goldfish better than this, and RP plays both songs. Something here for everyone!
They call it (radio) paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace (radio) paradise,
kiss it goodbye.
The only part of this post that makes any sense is.... WTF?
This would be a 10 for me if Henley wasn't such a prick.
Still gave it a high score. But wow, you're right.
Hotel California, burning down. Very very sad. And infuriating. Years of inaction and defensive stupidity by "leaders" who could have at least made an attempt to take mitigating measures. Have them come to the front lines and fight these fucking fires from hell.
This song and its theme won't be getting passe or trite any time soon.
Hotel California, burning down. Very very sad. And infuriating. Years of inaction and defensive stupidity by "leaders" who could have at least made an attempt to take mitigating measures. Have them come to the front lines and fight these fucking fires from hell.
Words and intention - 9
The average is an 8, which may in these fookin' times may be less than it deserves.
and justify our bloody deeds,
In the name of destiny
and in the name of God."
Change the arrangement, lose the too-sweet strings and lazy percussion, and this could pass as a Mark Knopfler song.
No way - better to let you suffer the emptiness of living with yourself.
Some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought them
or
Some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus people bought them
Nah. The way he pronounces Jesus clearly means "Jesus! People bought them". Also the context suggests that meaning way more than the other.
Some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought them
or
Some rich men came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus people bought them
Amen to that. It's a very thoughtful and get-fucking-real-people kind of track.
Cancel That, the pretentious lyrics and awful singing change this to a rare one for me. I like some of the other songs on the album, but not this one.
The lyrics are prophetic, not pretentious. An American tragedy whose costs we're only beginning to understand.
..has the nutritional value of wonder bread
I'm not sure if any music has ever had any nutritional value at all. I imagine you are suggesting that The Eagles were the cultural equivalent of what Wonder Bread was to nutrition. I agree with that suggestion.
There's always one in every crowd:
In this scene, we learn that the Dude does not always abide:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JlmvtAHhnc
I was thinking almost the same thing when reading the comment right above this one. Maybe my tastes are swayed by pop culture and hippness (hey the dude f***ing hates them!) or maybe its these terrible strings that just started while I was writing.
..has the nutritional value of wonder bread
I think the Punk movement was driven by a lot more than the Eagles and their genre of music. Maybe to a small degree, a very small degree. That said, while not a true Eagles fan, they do have their place in the musical landscape and it's nice that Bill includes them in small doses here on RP.
me...
...me....
...and YES....the wiki-link is great...hehe....
The Eagles were one of my favorite bands through the '70s. Now I just find the majority of music produced by Henley & Co. to be just depressing. That, and terrestrial AOR stations killed the experience for me. I hope I never have to hear anything from this album in particular ever again.
no, sorry, very different bands, indeed a very different time and very different place. why compare? just further along in the album rack (or further down the list in iTumes, winamp, etc etc)
oh and a few cd encoding clicks on this one too, especially in the quiet piano bit in the middle.
The Beagles?
Maybe what you don't get is the bitter irony hidden beneath the Ho-Hum?
Cancel That, the pretentious lyrics and awful singing change this to a rare one for me. I like some of the other songs on the album, but not this one.
Ye Ye we ALWAYS got to have an Eagles Basher... these guys contributed so much to the music scene and all you got to say is a load of Utter tripe .. Get out from under those hoofs and look at the world in a Positive manner not joining the Green lemmings.. Needless to say I have been a fan of 'The Eagles'' for years.
They call it (radio) paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace (radio) paradise,
kiss it goodbye.
you forgot POWER TO THE PEOPLE mannnnnnn
Aw Man, I hate the f***ing Eagles - The Dude
Yes, I never really liked this album, or band, very much and there was no escaping any of it back then. They made plenty of other folks happy, so I suppose the did their jobs well.
- how true. Who would have thought such an over-played and pedestrian song (to my ears) would have such a profound lyric?!!!
A minor point, but the line is:
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em.
Now they can't sell 'em.
Hilarious Comment!
I like my version better.
considering all the other jesus references, i'm not so sure your version is wrong. it's implied at the least!
"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
We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and the name of God."
Damn, ain't that the sad truth.
They call it (radio) paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace (radio) paradise,
kiss it goodbye.
Thank you for your simplistic and uninformed analysis. We'll keep your resume on file. No, we, uh, have your phone number.
My favorite Eagles album, and one of my favorite Eagles song. Thanks RP!
They call it (radio) paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace (radio) paradise,
kiss it goodbye.
A minor point, but the line is:
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em.
Now they can't sell 'em.
did i say before i really hate the eagles, normally? it´s a fact!
but this song is ... yes... godlike :-)
Since this track is like many anti-U.S. songs, I don't think I've never heard many songs from Neil Young, The Eagles or others that extol the virtues of living in Cuba, France or the UK - or, perhaps, Scandinavia - or of people's epiphanies after having sought-out, arrived and lived in those places. They may be out there but I've not heard any played here.
This song just seems to bemoan how great thing could be if there were just more good, decent people who didn't have any of those icky, jejune religious beliefs, or were less interested in the success and wealth that cause so many problems for folks who don't share those aspirations - like the rock stars and celebrities so many people worship and emulate.
I'll go along with the perception - and reality - of the plastic nature of much of society and the hyper-obsessed drive to have and consume more, but the song doesn't address the folks who are able to avoid these evils and somehow manage to lead satisfied, meaningful lives. That's just another story someone else may have written.
So that's just what *I* see in these lyrics and my US$0.02. Lyrics, like poetry and visual art, can be interpreted many ways. That's just what I got from this song. I was never much of an Eagles fan although there are a number of their songs I do like - but just not this one. I guess that's kinda obvious at this point.
Sorry to intrude! I'll decline the frontal lobotomy and settle for a bottle in front o' me...
And for the record, I'd love to live in Finland, Denmark, or some off-the-grid island, but since I'm stuck here in the U.S., I'll continue to make the best of things. (The bomb-shelter is in process, and there's a pantry for stockpiling canned goods.)
A minor point, but the line is:
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em.
I like my version better.
Since this track is like many anti-U.S. songs, I don't think I've never heard many songs from Neil Young, The Eagles or others that extol the virtues of living in Cuba, France or the UK - or, perhaps, Scandinavia - or of people's epiphanies after having sought-out, arrived and lived in those places. They may be out there but I've not heard any played here.
This song just seems to bemoan how great thing could be if there were just more good, decent people who didn't have any of those icky, jejune religious beliefs, or were less interested in the success and wealth that cause so many problems for folks who don't share those aspirations - like the rock stars and celebrities so many people worship and emulate.
I'll go along with the perception - and reality - of the plastic nature of much of society and the hyper-obsessed drive to have and consume more, but the song doesn't address the folks who are able to avoid these evils and somehow manage to lead satisfied, meaningful lives. That's just another story someone else may have written.
So that's just what *I* see in these lyrics and my US$0.02. Lyrics, like poetry and visual art, can be interpreted many ways. That's just what I got from this song. I was never much of an Eagles fan although there are a number of their songs I do like - but just not this one. I guess that's kinda obvious at this point.
Sorry to intrude! I'll decline the frontal lobotomy and settle for a bottle in front o' me...
Completely agree... and with the Radio Paradise HD, I just can't quit watching! Sheesh.. doesn't Bill realize I have to WORK!!!!!!
A minor point, but the line is:
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought 'em.
I sat and listened, and everything about the song made me feel. I wept, and I thought, and I became involved in something called "Humanity."
I still can't listen to this song without crying. Of all the wonderful things the Eagles have given us in music, this one song still stands, in my mind, as an icon.
Can't vouch for the lyrics, but who the frell is "Papa Roach?" Apparently, he's done a "last resort" song that the mindless monkeymass is enamored of - it took several tries to get the lyrics to the REAL "Last Resort."
So - for whatever it's worth...
She came from Providence,
the one in Rhode Island
Where the old world shadows hang
heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams
like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea
She heard about a place people were smilin'
They spoke about the red man's way,
and how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere
to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand
or a place to hide
Down in the crowded bars,
out for a good time,
Can't wait to tell them 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
Then the chilly winds blew down
Across the desert
through the canyons of the coast, to
the Malibu
Where the pretty people play,
hungry for power
to light their neon way
and give them things to do
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
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
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
We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and the name
of God
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,
and kiss it goodbye
Anyone who calls this song "boring" needs therapy. Or perhaps a pre-frontal lobotomy.
alright. this is as kitschy as you can go, even more. but somehow they managed to give this song a i-do-not-know-what-it-is-but-it-works quality that is nothing less than unforgettable
The Eagles,,"Long Road Out Of Eden" ain't all that bad ! IMHO,of course.
14 Beatles tracks is excessive, right enough - I'd not known there were that many on the playlist. I was really thinking of the ratio of old to new music, though there's plenty enough new music on RP to keep me listening and contributing.
Maybe not. The classic/modern balance on RP is ok at the minute, perhaps a little skewed to the classics for my liking but enough new music is played so that it doesn't turn into a Golden Oldies station. Just the occasional Eagles track will do, thanks, particularly when they go on as long as this one.
The Eagles,,"Long Road Out Of Eden" ain't all that bad ! IMHO,of course.
Maybe not. The classic/modern balance on RP is ok at the minute, perhaps a little skewed to the classics for my liking but enough new music is played so that it doesn't turn into a Golden Oldies station. Just the occasional Eagles track will do, thanks, particularly when they go on as long as this one.
"Call something paradise, kiss it goodbye."
I wore the tape out on this one...and my parents record...CD is still going strong though...
"Call something paradise, kiss it goodbye."
Call some place Paradise. AS in Radio Paradise.
Thanks William. I still call you the Last Resort.
Well played!