Dammit, I'm not done saying goodbye to John Prine. "Paradise" is the story of a Kentucky valley destroyed by strip mining. He knows how to write. Not one word is angry. He's not here to tell you he's angry. He's here to tell a story that makes YOU angry. https://twitter.com/NPRinskeep/status/1247713209966120962

There really is a Paradise, Kentucky, "down by the Green River." Satellite images still show what appear to be the enormous black scars of strip mines. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Paradise,+KY+42320/@37.2656887,-87.0230024,4261m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x886f8752c1ca8afd:0xc0d55f480efa8019!8m2!3d37.2680983!4d-86.983606

There also really was the "world's largest shovel" operated by the Peabody coal company. https://gregfallis.com/2013/06/02/youre-too-late-in-asking/