For the group's first album, Adam and David added bassist Matt Malley, multi-instrument talent Charlie Gillingham, and drummer Steve Bowman. David Immergluck served as the second guitarist on the first album, but he did not officially join the band until 1999. Guitarist Dan Vickery was added just as the band set out on their first tour. As stated before, 'August and Everything After' provided the band with a surprise yet very welcome success, garnering them critical praise. Released on September 14, 1993 through Geffen Records, the album hit #2 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, showing that their tunes had tapped into something.
Counting Crows, with their intimate and confessional yet smooth, often catchy musical approach, achieved a large fan base among melodic rock fans over the years. Their 90s acclaim reflected that a significant music scene looked for something different from the raging guitars of the Seattle-based grunge movement as well as from either boilerplate pop music or the budding electronic music subgenres. The group kept on releasing new songs into the new millennium.
The band's more recent successes include the 2004 hit song "Accidentally In Love", which was featured on the Shrek 2 soundtrack (that has sold over 1,000,000 copies). That song has also garnered nominations for a Grammy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and an Academy Award. That same year, the band released their first ever best of set, which they titled 'Films about Ghosts'. That album features songs from every phase of the Counting Crows' recording career. To date, the band has sold over 20 million albums worldwide.
The group made the news when 'Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings' was released on March 25th, 2008. In addition, on January 16, 2008, the band released a digital EP as a free download on their official web site, consisting of the songs "1492" and "When I Dream Of Michelangelo". The lead single from the album was "You Can't Count On Me", which was released for radio play on February 4, 2008.
The album itself is thematically and stylistically divided into two parts: the first, more rock-influenced Saturday Nights, and the second, more country-influenced Sunday Mornings. Theme changes along with style; in the Sunday Mornings portion of the album, songs become more reflective. The iTunes release contains several bonus tracks, including a track-by-track interview with Duritz.
Members of the band:
Adam Duritz - lead vocals, piano, wurlitzer, tamborine
David Bryson - guitars, dobro, vocals
Charles Gillingham - piano, organ, accordion, mellotron, vocals
Dan Vickery - guitars, sitar, banjo, vocals
David Immergluck - guitars, bass, electric sitar, mandolin, vocals
Jim Bogios - drums, percussion loops, vocals
Millard Powers - bass guitar, upright bass, piano, vocals
Ex-members of the band:
Matt Malley - guitars, double bass, vocals
Ben Mize - drums, percussion, tambourine, bulbs, vocals
Steve Bowman - drums, vocals
Ben Ulrich - drums
Marty Jones - bass guitar
Lydia Holly - keyboards
Toby Hawkins - drums
Albums
August And Everything After - (September 14, 1993)
Recovering The Satellites - (October 14, 1996)
Across a Wire - Live in New York City - (1998)
This Desert Life - (November 1, 1999)
Hard Candy - (July 8, 2002)
Films About Ghosts: The Best Of - (November 25, 2003)
*New Amsterdam: Live At Heineken Music Hall - (June 19, 2006)
August And Everything After, Deluxe Edition - (Fall 2007)
Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings - (March 25, 2008)
Somewhere Under Wonderland - (September 2, 2014)
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 © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@roa3432
Big Yellow Taxi Lyrics
[Verse 1]
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot
[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop
Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop)
[Verse 2]
They took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em
[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop
Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop)
[Verse 3]
Hey farmer, farmer, put away the DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees, please
[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop
Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop)
[Verse 4]
Late last night, I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop)
I said, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop)
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Shoo-bop-bop-bop-bop)
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
@isimartsy3422
Timeless song. Last month, one day ago was it's 14th anniversary. My 14th birthday was an exact month before that, I love this song, so here are the lyrics to show my love. I didn't plagiarize, I typed all of it out myself.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique and a swingin' hotspot
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot
Ooh, bop bop bop,
Ooh, bop bop bop, (na na na na na)
They took all the trees and put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar and a half to see them
Now, now, now,
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot
Ooh, bop bop bop,
Ooh, bop bop bop, (na na na na na)
Hey, farmer farmer, put away your DDT
I don't care about spot 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 till it's gone?
They paved paradise to put up a parkin' lot, hey now,
They paved paradise to put up a parkin' lot
Ooh, bop bop bop, (Now, now)
Ooh, bop bop bop, (na na na na na)
Listen,
Late last night I heard the screen door sway,
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 till it's gone?
They paved paradise, to put up a parkin' lot
Hey
Now, now
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone?
They paved paradise, to put up a parkin' lot
Why, now
They paved paradise, to put a parkin' lot
Hey, hey, hey
Paved paradise, to put up a parkin' lot
Ooh, bop bop bop,
Ooh, bop bop bop,
I don't wanna give it,
Why you wanna give it, why you wanna give it all away?
Hey, hey, hey
Now you wanna give it,
Ah, She wanna give it, Cause she givin it all away
I don't wanna give it,
Why you wanna give it, why you wanna give it all away?
Cause your givin' it all,
Givin' it all away
Why you want to?
Why do you want to? (She's givin' it all away)
Hey, hey, hey
They paved paradise to put up a parkin' lot
La, la, la, la, la, la,
Na, na, na, na, na, na, na
@trevortnidesserped3299
I get why someone might hate this cover but I love it. The overall vibe of it, the fact they gave a new life to this tune, and those adlibs from Vanessa just make the entire song.
@larrysmac
This is just an 'elevator/department store' version of Joni's original.
@t.e.burgos3263
Did Joni Mitchell ever express her opinion of this cover? I love the original AND the cover BTW.
@trevortnidesserped3299
@@t.e.burgos3263 Supposedly a review of the cover written by The Village Voice upon its release was archived onto Joni Mitchell's website. I'm not sure if it was her who archived it or someone on her team, but I highly doubt she didn't dislike this cover. She was one of those more eccentric, artsy alternative/folk artists who didn't try to fit in any of the industry norms or boxes at the time, and she was also egotistical to a certain extent.
@bminus4502
Heard this song for first time in a long time a week. The shivers I got. Oh man. Best feeling in the world.
@WWJDIwonder
@mudda90210 She'll still be getting royalties on it - I bet she won't mind those! ☺
@texasvanity
This song hits home to people like me who are old enough to remember wooded areas that we played in, that are now shopping centers and apartment buildings. They literally paved our childhood play zones, pretend war zones, ect to put up parking lots.
@sweetpopz
They paved the bball court and badminton court to put up an empty lot for events and a seated pavilion respectively but never used it. And they wonder why children don’t engage in sports these days.
@Dr.Gainzzz
I hope it hits home enough to know this is a cover of a Joni Mitchel song.
@AH-be6bu
@Chris O'Neill laughable thing to say.