MAY 21, 2014 – Way back in 1971, John Prine wrote a song for his father lamenting the place near the Green River he would visit in Kentucky as a child, and how the coal company destroyed it with mountaintop removal mining methods. He titled the song “Paradise”, referring to how he felt best when he was outside in the fresh air, hanging out with his kid brother, fishing, hiking, and just having fun. It was on his debut album, and has become one of his biggest songs, and has been covered by 100s of artists from John Denver to Johnny Cash. The song has also been performed in 4/4 and 3/4 timing, many different keys, arranged many ways, and spans several genres. They are all good versions in my opinion. JTMP recently sponsored a version of Paradise by the Keystone Kops updating the lyrics to reflect the modern equivalent of a threat to our outdoors, the Keystone XL Pipeline. Watch the video of “Paradise – Keystone Pipeline” HERE! I recently ran across this version of folk/bluegrass musicians extraordinaire Tim O’Brien and Darrell Scott, and a children’s choir from Durham’s Central Park Elementary School doing their version, and I thought I would post it. Thanks to dschram1, Gabe Nelson, and Erick Kaskowiak for the awesome video and great audio. Enjoy!
[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://youtu.be/1gat0diHi80[/youtube]
