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Big Yellow Taxi

by Maryjo Mattea

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Jon Patton
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Simon "DJ Landmine"
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about

Maryjo Mattea's dystopian take on Joni Mitchell's 1970 classic, "Big Yellow Taxi," is a somber modern-day acknowledgement that all of the hypothetical events depicted in the original folk song have actually come to pass. No longer a playful social commentary, the lyrics now feel more like foreboding wisdom upon which society opted not to act. Like A Perfect Circle's cover of John Lennon's iconic utopian anthem, "Imagine," Mattea's rendition of "Big Yellow Taxi" shifts the song to a minor key and incorporates dark sonic elements and treatments courtesy of producer Jay Nemeyer of Color Palette, auditory cues that imply to the listener that they did, in fact, pave paradise to put up a parking lot. The track will fit well on a playlist aside artists like Massive Attack, Portishead, Nine Inch Nails, and PJ Harvey.

lyrics

They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
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 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

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

Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up 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 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

Late last night I heard the 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 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

credits

released November 5, 2021
Maryjo Mattea - vocals & piano
Jay Nemeyer - guitar & treatments

Lyrics and music by Joni Mitchell
Arrangement by Maryjo Mattea & Jay Nemeyer
Produced and mixed by Jay Nemeyer
Mastered by Mark Peteritas (Working Man's Productions)
Published by Maryjo Mattea Music

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Maryjo Mattea Washington D.C., D.C.

Maryjo Mattea is a pop/rock songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist based in Washington, DC. She is the creative force behind such catchy, pop-sensible earworms as “A New Normal” and “Wind Me Up.” Her sound has garnered numerous comparisons to rock icons like Alanis Morisette, Liz Phair, and Rilo Kiley. ... more

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