What does “They paved paradise and put up the parking lot” actually mean?
We often mistakenly think of environmentalism and climate awareness as a modern thing. As the situation has got worse and worse, more and more artists have turned their pen to the topic. But way back in 1970, Joni Mitchell was already tuned into the troubles facing the planet as she release a powerful rallying call in the form of ‘Big Yellow Taxi’.
Sitting on her third album, Ladies of the Canyon, it marked a change for the singer. Previously best known for her deeply personal, confessional and incredibly introspective lyricism, ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ saw her turn her gaze outwards towards the world around her.
Born and raised in Canada before moving to California, Mitchell was in the privileged position of getting to see a lot of the world as her music took her around the globe. But while that was obviously something she counted herself lucky for, it also meant that she bore witness to rapid changes in the climate and the way land was being treated. She witnessed deforestation in action, saw cities built and ever-expanded, she saw factories blowing harmful smoke across some beautiful sights. It bothered her, and in 1970, she finally articulated it.
“They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” she begins with the lyric capturing this issue in a short, sharp one-liner. Mitchell felt that she was witnessing natural beauty be crushed under industrialisation or commercialisation of land. Similar to the lyric, “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,” it’s a semi-ironic take on a future in which private investors and businesses have killed nature, but are making money off it still.
As another verse begins, “Hey, farmer, farmer, put away your DDT now,” she’s also rallying against genetic modification and man-made meddling with things that grow naturally. “Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees,” she continues, calling out for things that are natural, beautiful and healthy to be left alone as she cries for people to take their hands off her planet.
What was the inspiration behind ‘Big Yellow Taxi’?
Despite being a universal and clearly political song addressing an issue that impacts all global citizens, the inspiration for ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ did come from somewhere specific.
“I wrote ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ on my first trip to Hawaii,” Mitchell recalled. She continued, “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.”
Taking the lyrics exactly from the words in her heart upon seeing that sad sight, ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ is a direct response to the view from her window, but as Mitchell knew even back then, this was a bigger issue than just the scenery in her view being spoilt.
