Paradise City

"Paradise City" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their debut album, Appetite for Destruction (1987). It was released as a single in January 1989. It is also the only song on the album to feature a synthesizer. It is frequently played at sports stadiums during games along with "Welcome to the Jungle", also from Appetite for Destruction. The song peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100—becoming the band's third single to reach the Top 10—and number six on the UK Singles Chart. It also topped the Irish Singles Chart, their first of three singles to do so.

This article is about the song. For other uses, see Paradise City (disambiguation).

"Paradise City"
Artwork for U.S. and Australian vinyl editions
Single by Guns N' Roses
from the album Appetite for Destruction
B-side	"Move to the City" (US) "Used To Love Her" (UK)
Released	January 1989 (US) March 13, 1989 (UK)
Recorded	1987
Genre	Hard rock
Length	6:48 5:20 (WLS-AM radio edit)
Label	Geffen
Songwriter(s)	Slash Axl Rose Izzy Stradlin Duff McKagan Steven Adler
Producer(s)	Mike Clink
Guns N' Roses singles chronology
"Sweet Child o' Mine" (1988) "Paradise City" (1989) "Patience" (1989)
Music video
Paradise City on YouTube

Song

Guns N' Roses' lead guitarist, Slash, states that the song was written in the back of a rental van as they were on their way back from playing a gig in San Francisco with the band Rock N Riders. He says that the band was drinking and playing acoustic guitars, when he came up with the intro. Duff McKagan and Izzy Stradlin started playing along. Slash started humming a melody when Axl Rose sang, "Take me down to the Paradise City." Slash chimed in with "Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty." Rose sang the first line again, where Slash shouted out "Where the girls are fat and they've got big titties."[1] Rose finished with "Take ... me ... home!" Slash preferred his second line but the rest of the band felt differently. He was outvoted and they used the first line. The band then expanded upon the rest of the lyrics in rounds. Finally, Slash wrapped up by coming up with the heavy riff that drives the song.[2]

During a 1988 interview, Rose told Hit Parader magazine that "the verses are more about being in the jungle; the chorus is like being back in the Midwest or somewhere."

This song was often used as the band's show-closing song during the Appetite for Destruction Tour, Use Your Illusion Tour and Chinese Democracy Tour.

Slash has stated that "Paradise City" is his favorite Guns N' Roses song.[2]

In the last two minutes of the song, it changes to double-time and the chorus is repeated several times while Slash plays a guitar solo in the background.

Guitarist Andy McCoy has said that the song is copied from several riffs written by his band, Hanoi Rocks. He has said that the chorus is just a slower version of the riff in "Lost in the City". Axl Rose has often cited Hanoi Rocks as Guns N' Roses' biggest influence. Hanoi Rocks' original rhythm guitarist Nasty Suicide can also be seen in the music video for "Paradise City." The style of the main riff of "Paradise City" (involving an ascending chromatic riff) has also been used by many former Guns N' Roses members in new projects. This can be seen in Izzy Stradlin's "Bomb" and Velvet Revolver's "Do It for the Kids". According to Tracii Guns of L.A. Guns and former member of Guns N' Roses, the riff was influenced by the Black Sabbath song "Zero the Hero" from the Born Again album.[3]

Legacy

The song ranked number 21 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs of All Time.[4] It ranked number 459 on Rolling Stone's 2010 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."[5] Some publications have denoted the song as one of the band's worst songs, such as Ultimate Classic Rock and Spin.[5] The latter designating it as the most overrated in their catalogue, writing "'Paradise City' runs out of ideas halfway through its triumphant first refrain and yet still lasts for six more minutes"[6]

Live

During live Guns N' Roses shows, "Paradise City" is usually performed last, as an encore. This has been a tradition since at least 1988, up to their latest tour. They also performed the song live at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert in 1992 (this time it was the first song of their short set).

Formats and track listing

All tracks are written by Guns N' Roses except where noted.

US 7" vinyl ()

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Paradise City" (LP version)
2.	"Move to the City" (LP version)	Guns N' Roses, Del James, Chris Weber

UK 7" vinyl (GEF 50), 7" vinyl picture disc (GEF 50P), 7" vinyl holster pack (GEF 50X)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Paradise City" (LP version)
2.	"Used to Love Her" (LP version)

UK 12" vinyl (GEF 50T)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Paradise City" (LP version)
2.	"Used to Love Her" (LP version)
3.	"Anything Goes" (LP Version)	Guns N' Roses, Weber

UK 3" CD (GEF 50CD)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Paradise City" (LP version)
2.	"Used to Love Her" (LP version)
3.	"Anything Goes" (LP version)	Guns N' Roses, Weber
4.	"Sweet Child O' Mine" (LP version)

Personnel

• W. Axl Rose – lead vocals, synthesizer, whistle
• Slash – lead guitar, backing vocals
• Izzy Stradlin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Duff "Rose" McKagan – bass, backing vocals
• Steven Adler – drums

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1989) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[7] 48 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 10 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 19 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[10] 19 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 6 Ireland (IRMA)[12] 1 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 4 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 2 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 2 Norway (VG-lista)[16] 4 Poland (LP3)[17] 7 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 3 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 7 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[20] 6 US Billboard Hot 100[21] 5 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[22] 14

Year-end charts Chart (1989) Position Belgium (Ultratop)[23] 47 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] 21 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 25 US Billboard Hot 100[26] 86

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[27]	Platinum	50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[28]	Platinum	1,000,000
sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Cover versions and use in other media

• Rock n' roll era singer Pat Boone included the song on his 1997 heavy metal covers album In a Metal Mood: No More Mr. Nice Guy.
• In 2009, Slash's single "Sahara" has a version of "Paradise City" as a bonus track featuring Cypress Hill and Fergie.
• Tom Cruise covered the song in the beginning of the 2012 musical film Rock of Ages. This cover also appears in the film's end credits and soundtrack.
• N-Trance recorded a version of "Paradise City" (using the song's riff), on their 1999 album Happy Hour.[29]
• E-dubble published a version featuring hip-hop lyrics for his series Freestyle Friday in 2010.[30]
• This song is featured in Burnout Paradise as the main theme for the game.

References

1. "Slash Talks Original NSFW Lyrics to "Paradise City" - Fuse". www.fuse.tv.
2. Bozza, Anthony, & Slash (2007). Slash. Harper Entertainment: New York. pp. 131–132
3. Martin Popoff, The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs of All Time, Ecw Press, 2002, p.135
4. "VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs". VH1. May 4, 2006. Archived from the original on February 26, 2009.
5. "Guns N' Roses - Paradise City". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
6. "Every Guns N' Roses Song, Ranked". Spin. February 19, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
7. "Australian-charts.com – Guns N' Roses – Paradise City". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
8. "Ultratop.be – Guns N' Roses – Paradise City" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
9. "RPM 100 Singles" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 49 no. 23. April 3, 1989. p. 6. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
10. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 6 no. 14. April 8, 1989. p. 21. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
11. Pennanen, Timo. Sisältää hitin: levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Otava Publishing Company Ltd, 2003. ISBN 951-1-21053-X
12. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Guns N' Roses". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 18, 1989" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved June 9, 2018.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Guns N' Roses – Paradise City" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
15. "Charts.nz – Guns N' Roses – Paradise City". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
16. "Norwegiancharts.com – Guns N' Roses – Paradise City". VG-lista. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
17. "Notowanie nr375" (in Polish). LP3. April 29, 1989. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Guns N' Roses – Paradise City". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Guns N' Roses – Paradise City". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
20. "Guns N' Roses: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
21. "Guns N' Roses Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
22. "Guns N' Roses Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
23. "Jaaroverzichten 1989" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
24. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1989" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
25. "End of Year Charts 1989". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved June 9, 2018.
26. "Billboard Top 100 – 1989". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
27. "Italian single certifications" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 24, 2017. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
28. "British single certifications". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 17, 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. 
29. Happy Hour, AMG, accessed June 12, 2007
30. "e-dubble - Paradise City (Freestyle Friday #24)".

External links

• Paradise City on YouTube
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics