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If you’ve ever had the experience of being a parent trying to comfort a colicky baby, you know that you’ll just about anything to soothe them.
That’s the situation my wife and I found ourselves when we had our first child. For the first 6 months or so of her life, she wasn’t a happy camper.
We tried everything we could think of to ease her woes. And when we hit on something that worked, we milked it for all it was worth.
Many a song was auditioned as part of this effort. Only the tiniest fraction made the cut.
Today’s selection, John Prine’s nostalgic lament about the effects of strip mining on his father’s hometown of Paradise, KY, was one of them.
And so many and hour was passed with either my guitar or banjo in hand, singing it to my daughter. The song was already a favorite of mine, but it’s baby whispering properties propelled it to rarefied heights.
Paradise
g#C#G#C#D# (gCGCD, capo 1) tuning, Brainjo level 3
Notes on the Tab
In this arrangement, I’ve tabbed out the part I play in the banjo “solo,” as well as the vocal backup I play on the banjo while singing.
Notes in parentheses are “skip” notes – to learn more about skips and syncopated skips, check out my video lesson on the subject.
For more on reading tabs in general, check out this complete guide to reading banjo tabs.
PRIOR SONG OF THE WEEK EPISODES
- Episode 1: “Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow”
- Episode 2: “Gumtree Canoe”
- Episode 3: “Crawdad Hole”
- Episode 4: “Oh Susanna”
- Episode 5: “Freight Train”
- Episode 6: “Grandfather’s Clock”
- Episode 7: “Hop High Lulu”
- Episode 8: “Been All Around This World”
- Episode 9: “I’ll Fly Away”
- Episode 10: “Leaving Home”
- Episode 11: “Poor Orphan Child”
- Episode 12: “Mr. Tambourine Man”
- Episode 13: “Swanee River”
- Episode 14: “Big Sciota”
- Episode 15: “Roll In My Sweet Baby’s Arms”
- Episode 16: “Darling Corey”
- Episode 17: “Battle Hymn of the Republic”
- Episode 18: “America the Beautiful”
- Episode 19: “Bury Me Beneath the Willow”
- Episode 20: “Way Out There”
- Episode 21: “New Slang”
- Episode 22: “I Saw the Light”
- Episode 23: “Amazing Grace”
- Episode 24: “Blowin’ in the Wind”
- Episode 25: “Yankee Doodle”
- Episode 26: “Budapest”
- Episode 27: “Wildwood Flower”
Level 2 arrangements and video demos for the Tune (and Song!) of the Week tunes are now available as part of the Breakthrough Banjo course.
View the Brainjo Course Catalog
