Counting Crows: Big Yellow Taxi Meaning

Song Released: 2003

Big Yellow Taxi Lyrics

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot

With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot

Don't it always seem to go

That you don't know what you got till it's gone

They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot



They...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   May 14th 2012 !⃝

   Big Yellow Taxi is about how people take things for granted, and how you then miss them when they are gone. The song is about how people forget about the beauty of the environment and all it has to offer us by covering it in concrete and putting large un-necessary buildings on top. The song relates to how the environment is being exploited and wasted by people, and how people sacrifice the environment to make more money. It reminds us that we don’t recognise the importance of anything around us, like how we spray our already perfect food with poisons and chemicals just to make them appear more appetising.

2. 2TOP RATED

   #2 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Feb 23rd 2012 !⃝

   It's about finding out that you value something even more when it's gone because you didn't realize how much you needed it when you had it.
3. anonymous

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   Oct 27th 2021 !⃝

   This song “Big yellow taxi” includes many poetic devices. For example, Metaphors and emotive languages. The most metaphor that I thought was good is “They took all the trees and put 'em in a tree museum”. Next is a very important emotive part in this song, it is “that you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone”. This part tells the audience that you think everything is normal to have but if you lose it once you understand that this thing is a very important thing for you.
4. anonymous

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   Aug 9th 2019 !⃝

   It is about how we take life for granted and how the things we really care and value -we only miss them when we lose them... Its a sad reality and I think most people can relate to this...
5. anonymous

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   Jul 26th 2012 !⃝

   joni says dylan supplied her with the last verse, which I never knew. the actual 'paradise' was the legendary royal hawaiian hotel, which was demolished in 1968. i always loved the way she giggles at the end. there's a live version that's even better than the one on 'ladies of the canyon'. don't know which of her lovers it was written about -- graham nash, david geffen (yes, he was straight once)
6. anonymous

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   Feb 3rd 2011 !⃝

   It's about the Earth and "Paradise" which is the wild. They paved it up made hotels and made you pay to see the littke left. You dont appreciate the Earth until its gone.
7. anonymous

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   Mar 14th 2010 !⃝

   They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot
   With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot
   Don't it always seem to go
   That you don't know what you got till it's gone
   They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot
   
   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
   No, no, no, 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
   
   Hey farmer, farmer, put away your 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 got till it's gone
   They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
   Hey now, they've paved paradise to put up a parking lot
   Why not?
   
   Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door swing,
   And a big yellow taxi took my girl away
   Now don't it always seem to go
   That you don't know what you got till it's 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 till it's gone
   They paved paradise to put up a parking lot
   Why not, they paved paradise
   They put up a parking lot
   Hey hey hey, paved paradise and put up a parking lot
   
   I don't wanna give it
   Why you wanna give it
   Why you wanna givin it all away
   Hey, hey, hey
   Now you wanna give it
   I should wanna give it
   Cuz you're givin it all away, no no
   
   I don't wanna give it
   Why you wanna give it
   Why you wanna givin it all away
   Cuz you're givin it all givin it all away yeah yeah
   Cuz You're givin it all away hey, hey, hey
   
   Hey, paved paradise, to put up a parking lot
   la,la, la, la, la, la, la ,la ,la ,la ,la
   Paved paradise, and put up a parking lot
   
   
   
   basically what makes this song great is that it is about a break up and does not drone on about how sad the singer is. The point is easily understood that he didn't appreciate his girlfriend but he only sings 2 lines about her.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

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