(Verse 1) Beside the roaring waters of the Mena Creek Falls, A Spanish dreamer looked across and saw his castle walls. José Paronella came across the rolling sea, With a pocket full of pennies and a giant fantasy. He labored in the sugarcane to buy this patch of land, To build a magic kingdom out of stone and mud and sand. (Chorus) Oh, Paronella, Paronella, deep within the green, The grandest little castle that the North has ever seen. Built for love and music under the rainforest bough, A dream made out of concrete then, a wonderland right now. (Verse 2) He built it for his beautiful bride, Margarita's smile, A grand ballroom and movie house in sweeping Spanish style. A waterfall for power and a thousand kauri pines, Where secret lovers wandered down the mossy, winding lines. He wanted it to be a place where simple folk could meet, To dance the night away and feel the music in their feet. (Chorus) Oh, Paronella, Paronella, deep within the green, The grandest little castle that the North has ever seen. Built for love and music under the rainforest bough, A dream made out of concrete then, a wonderland right now. (Bridge) But fires came and floods rose up, and cyclones took their toll, They battered down the battlements but couldn't break the soul. Though nature reclaimed half the stone and turned the towers gray, The magic of the Spaniard's dream was never swept away. (Verse 3) Now travelers come from far and wide to walk the ancient floor, To see the glowing fireflies and hear the waters roar. Its purpose now is history, to keep the story grand, And show the world what love can do with just a pair of hands. At night the castle lights go on, the strings begin to play, To guide another generation on their dreaming way. (Outro) So walk beneath the mossy arch and let your spirit soar, Where José’s grand old vision lives forever, evermore. The rainforest is whispering, the waterfall runs free, And Paronella stands today for all the world to see.
