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, 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 man came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em,
Put up a bunch of earthly 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 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 called it paradise, I don't know why.
You call some place paradise, kissing it goodbye.
Interpretation:
It is an important and elegiac song, being the last song on the album Hotel California and effectively the last statement by the band and reflects on the end of the American dream of the frontier. Critic William Ruhlmann said of it that it "sketches a broad, pessimistic history of America that borders on nihilism."[1] Author James Perone says that it ties "all the previous songs [from Hotel California] together in this final reflection of the dark side of California Life."[2] He notes, for example, how the song lyrics contrast the beauty of the California desert with ugly suburban houses and ultimately progresses to criticize the concept of manifest destiny, on which American expansion to California was partially based.[2] He regards the key lyric to be the line "They call it paradise; I don't know why," noting the emphasis given to it by the resignation of Henley's voice and by the falling melody.[2] Perone does criticize the use of synthesizer on the song instead of actual string instruments, which he feels sounds artificial.[2] To Eagles' biographer Marc Eliot, "The Last Resort" tells "the story of a nation's self-destruction and physical decay told as metaphor for personal creative burnout."[3]
(source: Wikipedia)
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, 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 man came and raped the land, nobody caught 'em,
Put up a bunch of earthly 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 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 called it paradise, I don't know why.
You call some place paradise, kissing it goodbye.
Interpretation:
It is an important and elegiac song, being the last song on the album Hotel California and effectively the last statement by the band and reflects on the end of the American dream of the frontier. Critic William Ruhlmann said of it that it "sketches a broad, pessimistic history of America that borders on nihilism."[1] Author James Perone says that it ties "all the previous songs [from Hotel California] together in this final reflection of the dark side of California Life."[2] He notes, for example, how the song lyrics contrast the beauty of the California desert with ugly suburban houses and ultimately progresses to criticize the concept of manifest destiny, on which American expansion to California was partially based.[2] He regards the key lyric to be the line "They call it paradise; I don't know why," noting the emphasis given to it by the resignation of Henley's voice and by the falling melody.[2] Perone does criticize the use of synthesizer on the song instead of actual string instruments, which he feels sounds artificial.[2] To Eagles' biographer Marc Eliot, "The Last Resort" tells "the story of a nation's self-destruction and physical decay told as metaphor for personal creative burnout."[3]
(source: Wikipedia)
