©Ednor C. Therriault

Twenty million people driving 20 million cars
Got the air so hazy, you can’t even see the stars
Endless summer’s waiting where the desert meets the sea
But there’s no room left for nature—have to watch it on TV

Grandpa moved his family here back in 1948
Came here in their pickup truck with Oklahoma plates
Used his G.I. benefits to buy a little house in Silver Lake
Now he’s in Las Vegas where the people aren’t so fake

Chorus
Welcome to our dirty paradise
The osprey and coyote paid the price
As long as there’s an angle and a profit to be made
If there’s a marsh that we can bulldoze and a mountain we can grade
We’ll keep on pouring concrete ‘til the sun begins to fade
Welcome to our dirty paradise

It started with Mulholland and his water-stealing scheme
He built the L.A. Aquaduct and he realized his dream
He drained the Owens Valley, dried up all those family crops
But Southern California has a thirst that never stops

This used to be all orange groves, limes and lemons too
Sweet smell of citrus on the breeze, it was a comforting perfume
But the money men smelled dollars signs and they tore out all the trees
Put up crackerbox developments with names like Orchard Creek

Chorus
Welcome to our dirty paradise
The osprey and coyote paid the price
As long as there’s an angle and dinero to be made
If there’s a marsh that we can bulldoze and a mountain we can grade
We’ll keep on laying blacktop ‘til the sun begins to fade
Welcome to our dirty paradise
Welcome to our dirty paradise
Welcome to our dirty paradise