Jay-Z – Paradise Lyrics

Jay performed this verse at the Paralympics closing ceremony with Coldplay. He explained this song on his own website, Life and Times

“The thought behind the verse is, anyone with a disability, just wants a sense of normality – that’s why they’re competing in these games. That was the idea to make the verse as inclusive for as many people, and to make it as normal as possible. It’s influenced by so many different things. There’s parts that are influenced by Gabby Douglas, there’s parts that are influenced by Ryan Lochte, and by Serena Williams.”

“It can relate to everybody. ‘You can take everything,’ means whether through some tragedy you lost a limb, like an arm or a leg. Or, it could be something like you lost the mortgage to your house. That’s pretty much the idea.”