Johnny Cash - Paradise: Guitar Chords

Learn to play "Paradise" on your guitar with our chord guide. This page provides everything you need to perform this song on the guitar, including lyrics integrated with chords, chord diagrams, and a key transposer to match your vocal range.

For easier playing, use our Simplify Chords feature to remove difficult chords like barre.

A#                     D#          A#
When I was a child my family would travel
                                   F            A#
Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born
                          D#       A#
To a backwards old town I often remembered
                       F            A#
So many times that my memories are worn

Well, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot with our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would kill

Chorus:
A#                               D#         A#
Daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
                               F        A#
Down by the green river where paradise lay?"
                              D#         A#
I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
                                 F          A#
Mister Peabody's coal train has hauled it away"

Then the coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
Well, they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
Then they wrote it all down as the progress of man

Chorus

When I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with paradise waiting
Just five miles away from wherever I am

Chorus


You can simplify chords by removing barre

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Simplify chords by removing barre

Guitar Chord Diagrams

A#

Guitar chord A#

D#

Guitar chord D#

F

Guitar chord F

Here you can see detailed diagrams for each guitar chord used in the song. Utilize our key transposer to adjust the chords to a key that better fits your singing range. Simply select the desired key, and the chords throughout this page will update automatically, ensuring you can play and sing comfortably.

If you are also interested in learning how to play "Paradise" on the ukulele, check out the chords on our sister site: Ukulele Chords for "Paradise" by Johnny Cash.

Johnny Cash Song List