Paradise
from Hard Place To Find by Tobin Mueller
PARADISE by Richie Havens
with altered lyrics:
(A little reggae soft shoe... I gotta a lot of walking left to do...)
There’s a thousand roads that get you there, and each one looks the same,
and with every step you’re thinking: Should you have gone the other way?
There are those who give direction, even though they’re lost themselves,
and those that finally get there never leave no trace or trail.
So, if you’re searching for some peace of mind,
out in a world that’s cold and unkind,
hoping someone will throw you a sign...
Paradise is a hard place to find.
There are wise men who tell you, it’s up there in the sky.
But I’ve flown enough airplanes... it looks like that's a lie.
There are those that think it’s here and now. What you do with everyday.
We better make the best of living, we’re gonna die for sure some day.
Searching for some peace of mind, out in a world that is cold and unkind.
Hoping someone will show us a sign.
Paradise is a hard place to find.
It's a hard place. A hard place.
Hard place to find.
I used to think I'd be a prophet, find reasons in these rhymes.
But I think that kind of searching could be a pleasant waste of time.
There are those who have religion that tells them how to live each day.
And those who shape the Universe if all they do is pray.
But me, myself, I’m tired. I don’t really need to know.
Just as long as I’m still breathing and I’ve got somewhere to go.
Searching for peace of mind.
Out in a world that is cold and unkind,
Hoping someone will throw me a line.
Paradise is a hard place.
Paradise is a hard place,
a hard place to find.
Song Notes: Richie Havens first grabbed my attention with his brave improvisation on "Freedom" during his Woodstock performance. We got a chance to meet and share a stage in 1992 and again in 2008, connected by our enthusiasm for environmental issues. He is known more for his covers of others' compositions, but has some fabulous original songs to his credit. This, I believe, is his best. It forms the starting point and frame for Hard Place To Find.
Although Haven's version is superlatively uplifting and hip, it's lyrics are too cynical for me even thought I understand and empathize with his point. I changed a few details here and there especially when he starts the 3rd verse: I’m not trying to be no prophet. I’m not trying to change your mind. But I think that this searching is such a waste of time. Well, when I was a young man, I always wanted to be a prophet. (I smile to myself, now, as I recall this). So I changed that line as well as the next, since, if searching is a waste of time, it certainly has been, for me, a pleasant one.
Musically, I transform the 3rd verse into a coda, giving it a different feel. It remains in the psuedo reggae feel, but shifts gears to make it seem more like an older man thinking back. In the end, I think my version gives you the sense I'm still searching, still content to waste my time, pleasantly, finding the small meanings of living and fairly convinced that I have touched on paradise a time or two... and hope to again.
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