My Gen X Playlist: Big Yellow Taxi – Counting Crows

I’ve lived in the city for thirty years, most of my adult life. But I feel energy when I leave, distanced from traffic and concrete buildings, surrounded by blue skies at nature’s doorstep. I’m in awe of all that Mother Nature has shown me.

I’ve descended through a cloud forest, been lost in an endless bamboo grove and walked among giant redwoods. I’ve trekked narrow canyons, waters extending from wall to wall, knee deep with each step, in the river the only trail through. I’ve sat under autumn colored trees in fall, among floating cherry blossoms in spring. Each season, different voices lightly detach from tree branches, quietly harmonizing back and forth as they make their way to peaceful slumber on the soft ground. Over cold mountain passes, down into warm valleys and across grassy meadows that invite each step. At dawn, I inhale deeply, my lungs fill with clean clear mountain air and I exhale completely at day’s end as the sun takes leave and makes room for the moon and the stars. Nature never ceases to reveal it’s beauty and I draw energy whenever she is near.

The Counting Crows covered Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi in 2002. I admit, I didn’t know much about Joni Mitchell, so this was a nice intro to her. I thought it was fun song, never really paying attention to the lyrics. I naively thought it was about a big yellow taxi. Lame, I know. Little did I know it was a song about the environment.

The first time Joni Mitchell visited Hawaii, she arrived late at night. When she woke up the next morning, she went to the window and opened the curtains. In the distance, she saw palm trees, green mountains, and white birds flying low. It was paradise! But when she looked down, she had a very different view. Below her was the huge, ugly parking lot of her hotel. She immediately sat down and began to write a song. “They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,” she wrote.

– sandraheyersongs

Although I’ve enjoyed the outdoors most of my life, I never felt concern for the environment until the last ten years. It’s too easy to take for granted. Being among nature saved my sanity more times than I can count and became my outlet for stress. I can’t imagine carelessly losing it’s beauty or live in a world where this is not passed on. Joni Mitchell is right. You don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone. Let’s hope it never comes to that.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

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

Ooh, bop bop bop
Ooh, bop bop bop

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

Ooh, bop bop bop
Ooh, bop bop bop

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 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Hey now, they paved paradise to put up a parking lot
Why not?

Ooh, bop bop bop
Ooh, bop bop bop

Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door slam
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 'til it's gone
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Hey na na, don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise to put up a parking lot
Why not?
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot
Hey hey hey
Paved paradise and put up a parking lot

Ooh, bop bop bop
Ooh, bop bop bop

I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna giving it all away
Hey, hey, hey
Now you wanna give it
I should wanna give it
Now you wanna giving it all away

I don't wanna give it
Why you wanna give it
Why you wanna giving it all away
Hey, hey, hey
Now you wanna give it
I should wanna give it
Now you wanna giving it all away

Why do you want me?
Why do you want me?

'Cause you're giving it all away
Hey, paved paradise to put up a parking lot