In 1974, my wife and I were traveling across Europe on a shoestring. We came upon a bar that was right on the Mediterranean sand. It was called Le Paradis.
We went back that evening and ordered a glass of wine to sip as we watched the sun go down. But just as the sun was setting, a waiter stepped in front of us and pulled closed a set of heavy velvet curtains and tied them up. When I asked him what was happening he said, "Alors, le Paradis se ferme maintenant." The Paradise is closing. To this day, it remains one of the best song titles anyone has ever given me.
I took a bunch of serviettes back to our tent that night and wrote this song on them. It isn't about France. It is about New York, and the street crime that was so rampant in that city at that time.
With Dave Hudson's vocals and the overall arrangement, the song took on the kind of life that our favourite songs did for us. When Warren Carr added the harmonica part, the song entered our souls, where it now lives forever.
Lyrics
The Paradise is Closing
Uncle Sam is 64 and he’s a friend of mine
And though we’re not related, my father likes him fine
We see him sometimes Sundays, he takes us to a game
When the Yanks are playing Cleveland, and the clouds hold back the rain
That’s when he’s closed
He runs a bar, you know
It’s just a small establishment, it’s called The Paradise
And bamboo chairs and old glassware make it kind of nice
CHORUS
And when The Paradise is closing Uncle Sam turns out the lights
When The Paradise is closing for the night
When The Paradise is closing Uncle Sam turns out the lights
When The Paradise is closing for the night
Now on our side of Seventh street it’s hard to make a dime
The kids there play with bottle caps just to occupy their time
There isn’t much to think about, no not too much at all
And the biggest life decision is who’s closest to the wall
But before he opens Saturdays Sam gives each kid a Coke
And they pay him back with “Thank you Sam” and the latest Seventh street joke
CHORUS
Uncle Sam he’s a stubborn man, he never takes a cab
He only lives two blocks from work but he can’t afford the tab
“Besides,” he says, “for thirty years, I’ve been walkin’ home”
So I guess it took him by surprise when they took his change
And left him on the walk to lie alone
When The Paradise is closing Uncle Sam turns out the lights
And The Paradise sure closed its doors that night
We found him in the morning and we thank God he was alive
And I swear we’ll go to ball games when I learn how to drive
And The Paradise is closed now, but Sam is still my friend
Though the Paradise won’t open up again
CHORUS
© Copyright Gary Poole, 1974