Cover art for Big Yellow Taxi by Pinhead Gunpowder

Big Yellow Taxi

19921 viewer

Big Yellow Taxi Lyrics

[Verse 1]
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot

[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot

[Verse 2]
They took all the trees and put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged all the people a dollar and a half just to see 'em

[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot

[Verse 3]
Hey farmer, farmer, put away that DDT now
Gimme spots on my apples, leave me the birds and the bees
Please

[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
[Verse 4]
Late last night, I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man

[Chorus]
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone?
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

A cover of Joni Mitchell’s classic song, “Big Yellow Taxi.”

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Credits
Recorded At
Dancing Dog Studios (Emeryville, CA)
Release Date
1992
Big Yellow Taxi Samples
View Big Yellow Taxi samples
Tags
Comments