<Table> <Tr> <Td> "Sam Stone" (4) </Td> <Td> "Paradise" (5) </Td> <Td> "Pretty Good" (6) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "Sam Stone" (4) </Td> <Td> "Paradise" (5) </Td> <Td> "Pretty Good" (6) </Td> </Tr> <P> "Paradise" is a song written by John Prine for his father, and recorded for his 1971 debut album, John Prine . Prine also re-recorded the song for his 1986 album, German Afternoons . The song is about the devastating impact of strip mining for coal, whereby the top layers of soil are blasted off with dynamite to reach the coal seam below . The song is also about what happened to the area around the Green River in Kentucky because of the strip mining . The song references the Peabody Coal Company, and a town called Paradise in Muhlenberg County, Kentucky where Tennessee Valley Authority now operates a coal - fired power plant . The area has suffered serious economic downturn because of the decline of coal mining . </P> <Ul> <Li> Jackie DeShannon recorded her version of "Paradise" for her 1972 album, Jackie, on Atlantic Records . </Li> <Li> John Denver released a cover of "Paradise" on his 1972 album, Rocky Mountain High . </Li> <Li> Tom T. Hall recorded his version of "Paradise" for his album, The Magnificent Music Machine . </Li> <Li> Jim and Jesse recorded and performed the song in the early 1970s . </Li> <Li> The Everly Brothers recorded a version for their 1973 album Pass the Chicken & Listen . </Li> <Li> The Country Gentlemen recorded a version for their 1973 album The Country Gentlemen . </Li> <Li> The Seldom Scene recorded versions for their 1973 album Act II and for their 2014 album Long Time...Seldom Scene . </Li> <Li> Lynn Anderson recorded her version of "Paradise" for her 1976 album, All the King's Horses . The song was also released as a single and peaked at No. 26 on the US Country chart . </Li> <Li> Roy Acuff recorded "Paradise" in 1980 . </Li> <Li> A cover recorded by Johnny Cash was used in the soundtrack of the 1981 TV movie The Pride of Jesse Hallam, which starred Cash in the title role . This version was later released on the compilation album Personal File . </Li> <Li> "Paradise" was the end credit song for the film Fire Down Below . </Li> <Li> Tim Flannery, former baseball player, recorded a version of "Paradise" on his 1999 album Pieces of the Past . </Li> <Li> Jimmy Buffett has played "Paradise" twice in concert, in 2002 at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati and again in 2008 at Riverbend . The 2008 Riverbend recording appears on Buffett's 2010 CD Encores . </Li> <Li> Pat Green & Cory Morrow covered "Paradise" on their album Songs We Wish We'd Written, which was released in 2001 . </Li> <Li> Dwight Yoakam recorded the song on his 2004 compilation album, Dwight's Used Records . This rendition is divided into two tracks . The first track has a slower tempo, while the second track has a faster tempo . </Li> <Li> Hayseed Dixie often include the song in their live setlist and vocalist John Wheeler (aka Barley Scotch) has referred to it on several occasions as his favorite song ever recorded . </Li> <Li> John Fogerty recorded a version as the lead off track for his 2009 album The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again . </Li> <Li> John Kadlecik performed this live in an acoustic performance 2011 - 06 - 22 at the New Deal Cafe . </Li> <Li> Jamestown Revival recorded the song as the second song on their 2013 EP California </Li> </Ul>

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