Mitchell got the idea for the song during a visit to Hawaii. She looked out of her hotel window at the spectacular Pacific mountain scenery, and then down to a parking lot.
Joni said this about writing the song to journalist Alan McDougall in the early 1970s:
I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii. I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I threw back the curtains and saw these beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart... this blight on paradise. That's when I sat down and wrote the song.
The song is known for its environmental statement (from the lyrics "Paved paradise to put up a parking lot", "Hey farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now") and sentimental sound. The line, "Took all the trees, put 'em in a tree museum/And charged the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em" refers to Foster Botanical Garden in downtown Honolulu, which is a living museum of tropical plants, some rare and endangered.
In the song's final verse, the political gives way to the personal. Mitchell recounts the departure of her "old man" in the titular "big yellow taxi", referring to the old Toronto Police Service patrol cars that until 1986 were painted yellow. In many covers the departed one may be interpreted as variously a boyfriend, a husband, or a father. The literal interpretation is that he is walking out on the singer by taking a taxi; otherwise it is assumed he is being taken away by the authorities.
The song was first put out as a single and then was put on the album Ladies of the Canyon in 1970; a later live version was released in 1975 and reached #24 on the U.S. charts. Mitchell's playful closing lyrics has made the song the most identifiable in her repertoire, still receiving significant airplay in Canada. In 2005, it was voted #9 on CBC's list of the top 50 essential Canadian tracks.
In 2007, Joni Mitchell released the album Shine, which includes a re-work of the song.
Big Yellow Taxi
Joni Mitchell Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 it's gone?
They paved paradise
Shoo, bop, bop, bop, bop
Shoo, bop, bop, bop, bop
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
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
Hey, farmer, farmer
Put away the DDT now
Give me spots on my apples
But 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 it's gone?
They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot
Shoo, bop, bop, bop, bop
Shoo, bop, bop, bop, bop
Late last night
I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
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
In Joni Mitchell's song "Big Yellow Taxi," the singer laments the loss of nature and open spaces to development as she sings the iconic lyrics "They paved paradise, put up a parking lot." The opening lines describe the destruction of paradise, which is metaphorically paved over to make a parking lot. The visual imagery of a bustling modern landscape replacing a natural paradise is striking. The second stanza makes a direct reference to the removal of trees from their natural setting and charging people to see them in a contrived environment, as is often done with antiques, art, and even animals.
The chorus repeats the phrase "Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone?" This phrase is commonly used to imply that we take what we have for granted, and we do not value it until it's lost, like a loved one or nature. In the third stanza, Joni Mitchell asks the farmer to put away the DDT, a pesticide commonly used in the 60s and 70s that caused environmental damage to plants, animals, and humans. She wants to see natural spots on her apples and is possibly referring to the pesticide residues that could damage the fruit's natural look.
The last two stanzas describe how the singer mistakenly did not appreciate and value what they had until it was gone. She speaks of hearing a large yellow taxi take her old man away, implying that she lost something valuable without understanding its worth. The sense of regret and loss is palpable in her voice, and the repeated chorus reinforces this idea.
Line by Line Meaning
They paved paradise
The destruction of natural beauty and purity by human development
Put up a parking lot
The creation of man-made concrete spaces at the expense of nature
With a pink hotel, a boutique
The emergence of short-lived and exploitative businesses that cater to tourists
And a swinging hot spot
The popularity of commercialized entertainment at the cost of environmental preservation
Don't it always seem to go
The unfortunate recurring pattern of human behavior that takes the environment for granted
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone?
The realization of the worth and beauty of something only after it is lost
They took all the trees
The systematic desolation of forest and woodland environments
Put 'em in a tree museum
The commodification and exploitation of trees for profit and artificial displays
And they charged the people
The process of monetary gain from the exploitation of natural resources
A dollar and a half just to see 'em
The absurdity of profiting from the display of natural resources
Hey, farmer, farmer
The addressing of those responsible for the current state of environmental decay
Put away the DDT now
The cessation of the use of harmful pesticides that have detrimental effects on the environment
Give me spots on my apples
The preference for natural and unmodified fruits and produce
But leave me the birds and the bees, please
The desire to preserve the ecosystem and its species that play crucial roles in it
Late last night
The suddenness and surprise of environmental destruction
I heard the screen door slam
The abruptness and speed with which the environment is being destroyed
And a big yellow taxi
The symbol of human development and its impact on the environment
Took away my old man
The loss of something valuable and irreplaceable due to human action
Lyrics © Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@janethowe8812
I just saw Joni Mitchell on the Grammys, 2/4/ 2024, last night. 80 years old. Wow. What a legend. When she made Big Yellow Taxi in 1970, none of the artists we saw at the Grammys last night were even born. Probably their parents weren't either. I never knew she faced so many health challenges in her life. Having to learn to walk and talk 3 times? What strength. Although she was seated, although her voice is no longer what it used to be, (who's is, at 80?) it took so much courage. She never won a Grammy until last night. I'm convinced her music will stand the test of time, because the last 2 generations finally had an opportunity to see and hear her.
@tinajennelle5512
she sounds good for being 80 years old and she looks great
@eddielavene4190
I became a fan of Joni in 1974 and bought "Court and Spark" album the same year released (at Peaches Records). Then, I bought "Hejira" the week it was released in 1976. She was an "out-of-the-box" folk/jazz artist that pulled me into her camp swiftly...
@ianmaslen1920
With her most recent win, Joni Mitchell has actually won 10 Grammys (one she shared with Herbie Hancock) and is easily one of the top ten singer-songwriters alive today. She's also won just about every award possible for a performing music artist.
@ericcrimson
As a high school student in Japan, I was also struck by it❤
@mabushecmalapane5900
But most of us assumed TKzee's palafala sampled Janet Jackson
@kincamell2
Gratitude.
Joni Mitchell never lies.
@MarianMurphy-rz8ej
She does. She was a witch. Still an important song. People should’ve maybe cared about things. But they chose not to.
@gamepapa1211
This song suddenly becoming relevant again made me both happy and sad. Then again, maybe it has always been relevant and folks just happily ignored it. Thank you for putting this song back again on the forefront of our collective consciousness, Miss Mitchell! You are a legend!
@tommas2674
YES. more so. It's destroying American well finishing off America(ns) from the inside " and out from out. border crashers to bye bye our food sources Farms for regressive sun dials solar and don Quixote wind batteries farms And the land too for landfills they will demand FOR CORRUPT CORPORATPOLITITICAN DESPOTS investment OUR farms being "PHASED OUT" can't want till those undeclared embargos off california's coast They will blame Americans for for their other destructive agenda BODIES With Americans true home less even working. at walmart, but heck fly to another country on WE the People as well for baby formula 3/4 ingredients could have had. plants across American or even Schools industrial kitchen JOBS for AMERICANS HOME LESS!!! AMERICANS ONLY!