Paradise Liedtext

"One of the most celebrated tracks on the album is “Paradise” (track 14). Segal (2002) called the track “the album’s most shattering, challenging moment” (p. A17). Springsteen sings from the point of view of a female suicide bomber in the first part of the song. The bomber is ready to sacrifice herself and all the others around her so she can reach what she thinks will be heaven: “In the crowded marketplace/I drift from face to face/I hold my breath and close my eyes/I hold my breath and close my eyes/And I wait for paradise/And I wait for paradise” (Gardner, 2002; Springsteen, 2002k). In the second verse of the song the central character becomes a woman who lost her husband in the Pentagon attack (Gardner, 2002). Springsteen sings of someone who has suffered loss and is left behind in the final verse of the track. The character in the third verse attempts to commit suicide by drowning him/herself in the river because he/she is so distraught over the loss of his/her beloved: “I sink ‘neath the river cool and clear/Drifting down I disappear/I see you on the other side/I search for the peace in your eyes/But they’re as empty as paradise/They’re as empty as paradise” (Springsteen, 2002k). Yet, he/she aborts his/her attempt to kill him/herself because he/she realizes paradise is troubled, too. Springsteen summed up “Paradise” as follows:
“So you have these two vignettes from completely different places. Then in the third verse, I imagined someone who had been left. The person goes into the river and goes under—and comes back up. It’s like saying, ‘We’re still here, and this is the only life we have’” (Gardner, 2002, p. 1D)."
Source: https://genius.com/3799757