Big Yellow Taxi
	Arranged by Joni Mitchell
	Released on June 1970
	US CHART POSITION #67 (charted July 25, 1970 for 6 weeks) . . . UK CHART POSITION #11
	Find it at GEMM
0906 wo. picture sleeve [high resolution scan]

T he two big butterflies from Ladies, in identical form (they even appeared side by side). Today, “Big Yellow Taxi” and “Woodstock” constitute a large portion of Mitchell’s legacy to the casual listener, who might also recollect “Both Sides Now,” “Help Me” and “Free Man In Paris” when pressed to name Joni’s children. The subject of “Big Yellow Taxi” (since there seems to be some confusion surrounding it) is that her boyfriend has left her and she only realizes now what they had together. It’s an allegorical piece: the lost paradise described in the first three stanzas is an analogy for her relationship. That’s why the piece is titled “Big Yellow Taxi;” it’s the fulcrum on which everything rests. “Woodstock” continues the references to the lost garden, this time in terms of Eden and our lost innocence. Ladies is rife with religious imagery like this, by the way.

TRACK LISTING

1. BIG YELLOW TAXI    (Joni Mitchell)    2:16
2. WOODSTOCK    (Joni Mitchell)    5:25
   
   US 1972 Back To Back Hits single
   
1. BIG YELLOW TAXI
2. CAREY

CREDITS

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