When I was a child my family used to travel
Down to Western Kentucky where my parents were born
And there's a backward old town that's so often remembered
So many times that my memories are wornHey daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train done hauled it awayWell, sometimes we'd travel right down the Green River
To the abandoned old prison down by Adrie Hill
Where the air smelled like snakes and we'd shoot off our pistols
But empty pop bottles was all we would killHey, daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train done hauled it awayWell coal company came with the world's largest shovel
And they tortured the timber and stripped all the land
And they dug for their coal till the land was forsaken
And they marked it all down as the progress of manWhen I die let my ashes float down the Green River
Let my soul roll on up to the Rochester dam
I'll be halfway to Heaven with Paradise waitin'
Just five miles away from wherever I amHey, daddy won't you take me back to Muhlenberg County
Down by the Green River where Paradise lay
I'm sorry my son, but you're too late in asking
Mister Peabody's coal train done hauled it away
Mister Peabody's coal train done hauled it away