She is the elder sister of the singer Enya, who was also briefly a member of Clannad in the early 1980s.
Her music is usually classified as New Age or Celtic. She accepts the Celtic label, but has at times indicated a slight discomfort with being seen as "New Age" as much of her music is strongly Christian, with some of her songs showing additional influences from her Catholic upbringing.
Since 2002, she has promoted herself as Moya Brennan -- a spelling closely resembling the phonetic pronunciation of her name for those not familiar with the Irish variant of the spelling.
According to her official website, her early influences included the likes of Joni Mitchell and the Beach Boys, before she discovered "the extraordinary wealth of Celtic history and melody on her doorstep".
Moya is also a member of Irish vocal supergroup T with the Maggies.
Big Yellow Taxi
Máire Brennan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put a parking lot
The took all the trees and put
them in a tree museum
And they charged all the people
A dollar and a half just to see them
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 a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer put away that 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
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put a parking lot
Late last night I heard a 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
Till it's gone
They paved paradise
And put a parking lot
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 a parking lot
The paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
The paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
One of Joni Mitchell's most famous compositions, Big Yellow Taxi, was famously covered by Máire Brennan in 1995. The song is a brilliant commentary on how we often fail to appreciate something until it is gone, particularly regarding the environment. The first verse describes how they 'paved paradise and put up a parking lot', which is a metaphor for how the modern world is rapidly destroying the planet. The verse also mentions a 'pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot', which represents how these new structures are not as valuable as traditional things that we are losing in the process. The message is that progress comes at a cost, and often a detrimental one.
The second verse talks about how they 'took all the trees and put them in a tree museum', which is again a metaphor for humans' obsession with controlling nature. The fact that they are charging people to see these trees shows how they are more interested in making a profit than preserving the environment. The line 'give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees Please!' emphasizes how humans are destroying habitats, which are essential for pollination, for their own benefit. The final verse describes the singer's relationship and how their partner has left them. This ending deals with the more personal, emotional aspects of loss, reminding us that absence comes in many forms.
Line by Line Meaning
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
The land that was once a beautiful paradise has been turned into a parking lot and the community is losing its natural beauty.
With a pink hotel, a boutique and a swinging hot spot
The establishment of commercial centers, such as hotels, boutiques, and nightclubs, has replaced the natural beauty that once existed in the area.
Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you've got Till it's gone
Often, people don't realize the value of something until it is taken away from them.
They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum
The trees that were once part of the natural landscape have been removed and placed in a museum, further separating the community from the environment.
And they charged all the people A dollar and a half just to see them
The community is now expected to pay for something that was previously free, reflecting how capitalism has overtaken nature.
Hey farmer farmer put away that DDT now Give me spots on my apples But leave me the birds and the bees Please!
The plea to stop using harmful pesticides means that we can still have some blemished produce if it means preserving the welfare of the ecosystem's animals.
Late last night I heard a screen door slam And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
In losing a loved one, the singer reflects on how quickly things can change and how important it is to appreciate those in our lives.
The paved paradise And put up a parking lot
A repetition that concludes the song and reiterates the notion of how the natural environment has been destroyed just for consumerism and profit.
Lyrics © RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: Joni Mitchell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bookslay
she is a great singer as well as very pretty.
@odunhops7727
Maire is legend and I love her!
@bridgetoofar2
I love this version, I love Moya Brennan <3 xx
@duncan3998
10 years later, Crowded house covered this
@terres20
PERFECT!!! SIMPLE THE BEST!!! I LOVE MOYA BREENNAN
@jacquelineseay6774
That's my sister-in-law and yes iSell Everybody's Records
@KaiBluecreations
This song is about Hawaii, hence the tribal body art work is appr. Joni was looking out of her hotel at the *Pink Palace, Royal hawaiian hotel in Waikiki. The tree museum is Foster gardens in Honolulu, where they moved the trees too ($5.50 to see 'um now, lol.) ... Sure you know the rest..
@Billiam64
Perhaps the connection is that a parking lot is like body art on the planet!
@janvanderwel5105
Is this The Blue Nile backing ?
@alanwatt8680
Yes it is.
It was recorded at Castlesound,where all TBN albums have been recorded or engineered.
Callum Malcolm was the producer of this album as well,but this track was produced by TBN,with all three playing on it.