Charting versions have also been recorded by The Neighborhood (who had the original top US 40 hit with the track in 1970, peaking at #29), Maire Brennan, Amy Grant, and Counting Crows.
Counting Crows featuring Vanessa Carlton (on back-up vocals) cover of the song is featured on the soundtrack to the movie Two Weeks Notice and is the most successful version to date (U.S. Billboard Adult Top 40). Originally the song was a hidden track on the band's 2002 album Hard Candy and did not include Vanessa Carlton until it was to be featured in the movie. New releases of the album included it as a track with her added, as with her in the video, although Counting Crows and Vanessa Carlton did not appear in the video together or record together. This song became the band's only Top 20 single in the UK, peaking at #13. This version slightly changed Mitchell's original lyrics to describe when the eponymous taxi took "my girl" away, instead of Mitchell's "my old man".
Big Yellow Taxi
Counting Crows Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got til its gone
They paved paradise
They took all the trees
And put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half to seem 'em
No no no
Don't it always seem to go,
That you don't know what you've got
Til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away the DDT
I don't care about spots on my apples
Leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey, now they paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
Why not?
Listenin' late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took my girl away
Now, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got
Til its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey now, now
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got
Til its gone
They paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
Why not?
They paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
Hey hey hey
Paved paradise
To put up a parking lot
I don't want give it
Why you want give,
Why you want give it all away?
Hey hey hey
Now you want give it,
Ah she want to give it
Cause she givin' it all away
Now now now
I don't want give it
Why you want give,
Why you want give it all away?
Giving it all, giving it all away
Why you want it?
Why do you want it? (She's giving it all away)
Hey pave paradise
Put up a parking lot
The lyrics to Counting Crows' song Big Yellow Taxi ft Vanessa Carlton are a reflection on the impact of human development on the environment. The lyrics lament the destruction of nature in the name of progress, particularly the paving over of natural habitats to make way for man-made structures, such as parking lots, hotels, and other attractions. The lyrics serve as a warning against the shortsightedness of modern development practices and the importance of preserving natural landscapes.
The chorus of the song, "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got til it's gone," speaks to the idea that people often take nature and the environment for granted until they are lost. The lyric encourages listeners to appreciate the natural world while it is still here and to try to make a positive impact on the environment in any way possible. The song also calls on farmers to stop using pesticides that harm the environment and to leave nature intact rather than making it subservient to human interests.
Line by Line Meaning
They paved paradise
They destroyed a perfect place
And put up a parking lot
To build something so useless
With a pink hotel, a boutique
In place of a beautiful view
And a swinging hot spot
A place for people to waste their time
Don't it always seem to go
Isn't it always the same
That you don't know what you've got til its gone
We take what we have for granted
They took all the trees
They didn't spare anything
And put 'em in a tree museum
To admire what they destroyed
And they charged the people
To see what was once free
A dollar and a half to see 'em
A price for lost memories
Hey farmer farmer
A plea to protect nature
Put away the DDT
Stop using dangerous chemicals
I don't care about spots on my apples
I care about the health of nature
Leave me the birds and the bees
Don't take away what's important to life
Please!
A plea for action
Listenin' late last night
Recalling a lost love
I heard the screen door slam
Bringing back a memory
And a big yellow taxi
A metaphor for a speedy departure
Took my girl away
Taking away what was valuable
Now why do they always seem to go
Why is it always like this
That you don't know what you've got
That we fail to appreciate what we have
Til its gone
Until it's too late
Hey now, now
A call for attention
Paved paradise
Destroyed what was perfect
To put up a parking lot
For something so useless
Why not?
Why did it have to be like this?
I don't want give it
A plea to not let it happen again
Why you want give
Why did they destroy
Why you want give it all away?
Why must they take everything important
Giving it all, giving it all away
Losing everything valuable
Why you want it?
Why do they take it away?
Why do you want it?
Why is it so important to destroy?
Hey pave paradise
A final disillusioned plea
Put up a parking lot
Repeating the mistake
Lyrics Β© Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@FiskeMi12
When Vanessa said "Ooh Bop Bop Bop", I felt that...
@colton4261
She shouldβve had a much bigger part than that lmao. She was kind of a big deal in the early 2000βs
@telmolicious
Colton what do u mean should have. Counting crowes made the cover and she fit perfectly
@TheNightCap
She nailed it. Brought so much to the song
@danny__dimes6606
I liked the part where she said βEhhh, leleleβ more
@kymanbedford-brown1323
Me too
@ConstantineJoseph
Nostalgia of a simpler, better, more carefree time. Glad to have lived in that time of the early 2000s
@jinjynram9736
Yes. Indeed
@ryand8293
Perspective is real π€―
@trollingisasport
Before two plains smashed into the World Trade Center.