Song Meaning: Paradise City by Guns N Roses

ARTIST: GUNS N ROSES | ALBUM: APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION | RELEASED: 1987

"Paradise City" is a highpoint of Appetite for Destruction

"Paradise City" is a typical early-Guns N' Roses song consists of themes like sex, drugs, and having fun. Once the song was released as a single, it facilitated in propelling Appetite for Destruction to top charts around world.

The song is about leaving home in search of outgoing adventures, namely girls, drugs and other "cool" stuff. Lyrics were loosely written, and open for your own interpretation. Slash and Axl Rose came up with the lyrics when they were still a club-band. Extending close to seven minutes in length, the song follows a verse-chorus form, explaining the band's adventure in detail. In fact, almost every line of the song attempts to convey a descriptive meaning.

As I said earlier, underlying themes, like as drugs and sex, were so commonplace for Guns N' Roses, that lyrics pertaining to such came to them very naturally. That's part of the reason why this song, and other off of Appetite like "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Mr Brownstone" is so vivid - both lyrically and musically. Other reason is, of course, slash's riffs and solos, and Axl's distorted, high-pitched vocals. What's not to be overlooked is Steven Adler's drumming; it was perfect throughout the album.

Analysis of interesting lines:

Take me down to the paradise city¹ - paradise city is a paradise of goods, unlike home

grass is green and the girls are pretty² - some perks in paradise city

lines #8 to #12 - G'N'R lacking money to buy stuff( drugs presumably ) and pay for prostitutes so they had to go back to the "end of the line"

lines #14 to #18 - while living on the edge while on road, far away from home,you'd have to occasionally push your luck to find "fortune and fame." Since G'N'R was seen as lower-class before they made to the top, they were the victim of slanted laws in favor of the rich. So "Everybody's doin' the time" refers to the fact the rich and powerful get away with simple crimes, while if those happened to committed by the poor, it was seen as a "capital crime."

Strapped in the chair of the city's gas chamber²⁷ - "gas chamber" symbolizes pot or marijuana

Surgeon general says it's hazardous to breathe²⁹ - absolutely brilliant line! "Surgeon General" obviously refers to the US federal government, and guess who was in charge back in the 80s. It was Reagan, followed by George H. W. Bush. This era marked the begging of the war on drugs. So what GNR is saying in this line is "big brother" is watching what you are taking into your own body, while, at the same time, talk highly on individual freedoms.

Lines #45 to #49 - Americans have a problem of viewing drugs as bad, and willing to punish anyone who possesses them. These five lines have to analyzed further to fully understand what Axl is saying, so I'm leaving that up to you. 

That's what I think of the song. Let me know in the comments sections if you can come up with better analysis.

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1. Take me down to the paradise city
2. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
3. Take me home (oh won't you please take me home)
4. Take me down to the paradise city
5. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
6. Take me home (oh won't you please take me home)
7. 
   
8. Just a urchin livin' under the street
9. I'm a hard case that's tough to beat
10. I'm your charity case so buy me something to eat
11. I'll pay you at another time
12. Take it to the end of the line
13. 
    
14. Rags to riches or so they say
15. Ya gotta keep pushin' for the fortune and fame
16. You know it's all a gamble when it's just a game
17. Ya treat it like a capital crime
18. Everybody's doin' the time
19. 
    
20. Take me down to the paradise city
21. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
22. Oh won't you please take me home
23. Take me down to the paradise city
24. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
25. Take me home, yeah yeah
26. 
    
27. Strapped in the chair of the city's gas chamber
28. Why I'm here I can't quite remember
29. The surgeon general says it's hazardous to breathe
30. I'd have another cigarette but I can't see
31. Tell me who you're gonna believe
32. 
    
33. Take me down to the paradise city
34. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
35. Take me home, yeah yeah
36. Take me down to the paradise city
37. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
38. Oh won't you please take me home
39. 
    
40. So far away
41. So far away
42. So far away
43. So far away
44. 
    
45. Captain America's been torn apart
46. Now he's a court jester with a broken heart
47. He said "turn me around and take me back to the start"
48. I must be losing my mind "are you blind?"
49. I've seen it all a million times
50. 
    
51. Take me down to the paradise city
52. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
53. Take me home, yeah yeah
54. Take me down to the paradise city
55. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
56. Oh won't you please take me home
57. Take me down to the paradise city
58. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
59. Take me home, yeah yeah
60. Take me down to the paradise city
61. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
62. Oh won't you please take me home
63. 
    
64. I wanna go, I wanna go
65. Oh won't you please take me home
66. I wanna see how good it can be
67. Oh won't you please take me home
68. Take me down to the paradise city
69. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
70. Take me home
71. Take me down to the paradise city
72. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
73. Oh won't you please take me home
74. Take me down, lead me 'round
75. Oh won't you please take me home
76. 
    
77. I wanna see, what a woman can be
78. I want to take you home
79. Take me down to the paradise city
80. Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty
81. Oh won't you please take me home
82. I wanna go, I wanna know
83. Oh won't you please take me home