Am C G
[Verse]
Am
We lived in Paia
C G
Hippie central, I could hop to the beach
Am
Sometimes we would hitchike
C G
Miles to school, school being a figure of speech
A
Where we sang (kahuli aku, kahuli mai)
[Verse]
Am
We lived on a zendo
C G
In the forest, silence for days on end
Am
Caught up on my reading
C G
Huckleberry Finn was my only friend
[Chorus]
Am F
It could have been paradise
C D7
But for the horrible bugs
Am F
I could have gone to a real school
C G
But for the murderous thugs
Am F
In the forest of paradise
C D7
We gathered magic mushrooms
Am F
But mostly I sat around
C G
In rooms as quiet as tombs
It was heaven
[Verse]
Am
My mother then took up with
C G
A trumpeter, red beard and pork pie hat
Am
Found a lyric of mine
C G
He took it home and set music to that
Am
To impress my mother
C G
He stole my song. Better back off, mister
Am
Fast forward two decades
C G
Same thing happened but with Shakespeare's sister
[Chorus]
Am F
Why should it be paradise?
C D7
That's just a place people go
Am F
It was home for a little while
C G
But you can give me the snow
Give me the snow
[Verse]
Am
My friend Shell was named for
C G
A shell on the beach. She spoke pidgin English
Am
Everyday I swam out
C G
Onto the reef, catching exotic fish
[Chorus]
Am F
It could have been paradise
C D7
With one good reason to stay
Am F
If it had been paradise
C G
Guess we'd still be there today
