Heylady,you,lady,cursin'atyourlife
You'readiscontentedmotherandarichinventivewife
I'venodoubtyoudreamaboutthethingsyou'llneverdo
ButIwishsomeonehadatalkedtomelikeIwannatalktoyou
OohI'vebeentoGeorgiaandCalifornia,oh,anywhereIcouldrun
Tookthehandofapreachermanandwemadeloveinthesun
ButIranoutofplacesandfriendlyfacesbecauseIhadtobefree
Charlene
I'vebeentoparadise,butI'veneverbeentome
Pleaselady,please,lady,don'tjustwalkaway
'CauseIhavethisneedtotellyouwhyI'mallalonetoday
Icanseesomuchofmestilllivinginyoureyes
Won'tyoushareapartofawearyheartthathaslivedamillionlies
OhI'vebeentoNiceandtheisleofGreece
WhileIsippedchampagneonayacht
ImovedlikeHarlowinMonteCarloandshowed'emwhatI'vegot
I'vebeenundressedbykingsandI'veseensomethings
Thatawomanain'ts'posedtosee
I'vebeentoparadise,butI'veneverbeentome
peopleandplacesaswe'dlikethemtobe.Butyouknowwhattruthis?
It'sthatlittlebabyyou'reholding,andit'sthatmanyoufoughtwith
thismorning,thesameoneyou'regoingtomakelovewithtonight.
That'struth,that'slove
SometimesI'vebeentocryin'forunbornchildren
Thatmighthavemademecomplete
ButI,ItookthesweetlifeandneverknewI'dbebitterfromthesweet
Ispentmylifeexploringthesubtlewhoringthatcosttoomuchtobefree
Heylady,I'vebeentoparadise,butI'veneverbeentome
I'vebeentoparadise-neverbeentome
(I'vebeentoGeorgiaandCalifornia,andanywhereIcouldrun)
I'vebeentoparadise-neverbeentome
(I'vebeentoNiceandtheisleofGreece
WhileIsippedchampagneonayacht)
I'vebeentoparadise-neverbeentome
(I'vebeentocryin'forunbornchildren...)(tofade)