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Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” is this week’s Song of the Week. “Big Yellow Taxi” was released in the summer of 1970 on single and also appeared on Mitchell’s third album “Ladies of the Canyon.” It is one of her most enduring and most covered songs, with over 200 versions recorded over 40 years.

“Big Yellow Taxi” was inspired by a trip to Hawaii during which Mitchell was dismayed to find a living museum of tropical plants, many of which were endangered – hence the lyric:

The song is perhaps best known for the line “paved paradise to put up a parking lot.” Mitchell says that this was inspired by the view outside her hotel room in Hawaii, where there were mountains in the distance and a parking lot as far as the eyes could see.

Mitchell continues the environmental theme by addressing the then thorny issue of DDT use:

The public outcry about the use of DDT had grown in the 60s as evidence emerged regarding the environmental and human health impacts of the chemical. It was banned for use in the US in 1972 and shortly after received a worldwide ban.

The final verse appears at first to be an oddity, as the environmental theme is abandoned and the lyric is personalised. Mitchell tells of being left by her “old man” who is taken away in a “Big Yellow Taxi.” The tie-in with the earlier lyrics is the point that we often only appreciate the value of something when it’s no longer there, whether that be a landscape or a relationship – or as Mitchell puts it:

Covers of the song have offered different interpretations of who is leaving in the taxi. Dylan abandoned this aspect entirely and instead had a “big yellow bulldozer” take away “the house and land.”

Here’s Joni Mitchell singing “Big Yellow Taxi” at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 29, 1970.

Authorship

Joni Mitchell wrote the words and music for “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Recording date/location

“Big Yellow Taxi” was recorded late 1969/early 1970 at A&M Studios, Hollywood, California, at the sessions that produced the material for Mitchell’s album “Ladies of the Canyon.”

Musicians

The following musicians appear on “Big Yellow Taxi”:

• Joni Mitchell – guitar, piano, vocals
• Milt Holland – pandeiro and triangle
• The Saskatunes – backing vocals.

Chart performance

Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” hit number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 1970, but did better elsewhere, including Australia (#6), Canada (#14) and the UK (#11).

At the same time that Joni was peaking at number 67 in the US with “Big Yellow Taxi”, The Neighbourhood reach number 29 with their rock cover of the song.

Joni had better success in the US with a later live version of “Big Yellow Taxi,” which hit 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974.

The album on which Joni’s original version of “Big Yellow Taxi” appeared, “Ladies of the Canyon”, hit number 27 on the US album chart and number 8 in the UK.

Covers

Amy Grant – “Big Yellow Taxi”

Amy Grant’s excellent cover of “Big Yellow Taxi” was released on single in 1995 and coincidentally achieved exactly the same chart placing (#67) as Joni Mitchell’s original single. Like Joni’s original, Amy’s version fared better in the UK, where it was a top 20 hit. Amy’s arrangement isn’t too far from the original, but is a little more polished and clinical. The lyrics are also updated to reflect inflation – it now costs 25 dollars to see those trees!

Amy Grant’s “Big Yellow Taxi” features on her thirteenth studio album “House of Love.”

Counting Crows (featuring Vanessa Carlton) – “Big Yellow Taxi”

The Counting Crows featured “Big Yellow Taxi” on their fourth studio album “Hard Candy” in 2002. Their version was subsequently included on the soundtrack of the movie “Two Weeks Notice”, with Vanessa Carlton added to the track. This version was also released on single in 2003 and reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the UK singles chart – the band’s biggest UK hit.

There will be a new Song of the Week on August 30.

“Big Yellow Taxi” is available on the album “Ladies of the Canyon” and various compilation albums, including “Dreamland” from 2004, which features artwork by Joni and an essay by Cameron Crowe. Joni’s 2007 re-recording of “Big Yellow Taxi” can be heard on the album “Shine.”

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