Interpretation:Jerry: Darryl, your interpretation of Hoobastank - The Reason made this song make SO much more sense to me. Though this song is a remake, they are obviously mocking the original! This song just points out how stupid those extreme pinko commie bleeding heart panzy-assed liberal wacko jackasses are! Unwilling to do what needs to be done to get out of poverty but they pop out 30 babies and live on welfare. BASTARDS!This song is all about not realizing the value of your property until you develop on it. The first two verses alone show what I mean. First of all, parking lots make a LOT of money. The term paradise is mocking those who don't realize the paradise of having a lot of money. It's the same as me saying, mockingly, "Hey Darryl, your Pinto is a cherry ride!" You make plenty of money with the parking lot, but you also take the trees you cut down and sell them to a museum and either get a large up front sum for them, or you get commission off of the $1.50 per viewing. There is a little more to this song that I will get to after I hear your response. Darryl: Interesting read, Jerry. Interesting, but wrong. This is a song, though, that most people misinterpret. It was written for a movie of the same name that ended up never seeing the light of day. The context of the movie would have made the song clear, but when Joni Mitchell made it an anthem for the evironmental movement its original meaning was lost...until now. The first clue is the title. The song is not called, "They Paved Paradise". The true meaning is pointed to in the "Big Yellow Taxi" verse. In the movie the lead actor falls in love, only to lose his lover to the adult sex trade. His "paradise" is turned into a "parking lot". Jerry: WHAT?! First of all, I'm fascinated in what you are saying. Not because it seems remotely valid or anything, but it does sound like an interesting story... As for the Big Yellow Taxi, it took his panzy liberal whore girlfriend away, but that was only because she was upset about the "Paradise" being ruined. He's lucky to be rid of her. The song, however, isn't really based on her leaving, it was just a convenient title. Obviously if you name your song "Paved Paradise" it's not going to be listened to by conservatives, but you can trick a few of them to listen by calling it "Big Yellow Taxi." As for this movie thing of yours. I have a few questions. I only ask because I know you have an "issue." I use our about us page for the most "obvious" example of what I'm talking about. So... If this movie never saw the light of day, how do you know about it? Don't forget. I DO know what you do for a living! If the movie thing isn't real, now would be a good time to confess you LYING BASTARD! Darryl: Since you know what I do for a living, you know my work is intimately involved in movies! You'd be surprised how many movie songs become hits even though the movie never reaches the public. One contemporary example: Finger Eleven's current hit, "One Thing", written for "City Slickers 3". I'm so disappointed in you, Jerry. First you use the "Look at me. I'm a patriot!" tact. When that doesn't work you resort to calling me a liar. They say ignorance is bliss, but sometimes ignorance is just ignorance. Even if you don't believe me, you surely can see the clues in the song. Why else would someone talk about DDT and the birds and the bees in the same sentence? You don't often have "swingin' hot spots" next to pink hotels and boutiques. Unless, of course, we're talking about a different kind of "hot spot". The phrase "a dollar and a half" is street slang for $150, her going rate for entry into her "forest." How many more clues do you need? Jerry: Sorry I violated your fantasy world, I just thought the reading audience may want to know that "You speak with forked tongue", if I'm allowed to steal a line from another group of people that didn't recognize land value until casinos got popular... It appears you have done the inevitable and taken this interpretation into the gutter. You think this song is all about a whore?! Entry into her forest indeed. I'm sometimes amazed that you function in society as well as you do. That does bring a whole new meaning to "paved paradise" assuming they'd be talking about going with a Brazilian wax or completely bald, but I'm more disturbed by the whole "put up a parking lot" part if that's the case. I'm really not sure what to say about all of this. As far as I see it, my interpretation shows the true meaning behind the song, but yours is far more 'smutty' therefore probably enjoyed more by the readers. They are all filthy bastards as well if you didn't know... Darryl: Jerry, just because I recognize that art often deals with human sexuality (what you would call "Left-wing, liberal crap"), that doesn't mean I'm a menace to society. If you ask any woman how much a role sex plays in our male-dominated society, plan on spending some time getting an earful. Ask any movie critic, director, professor of theater, or just about anyone else associated with the film industry. They'll tell you what a large role sex plays in the art of movie making. I'd bet that just about any of them could list two dozen film phallic symbols off the top of their head. Jerry: Alright, first of all I have to know if this was intentional. "I'd bet that just about any of them could list two dozen film phallic symbols off the top of their head." I'm surprised you got sucked into the left wing so easily. "Jerry, we need to be more sensitive to the role sex plays to the poor widdle women in this horrible male dominated society!" YOU MAKE ME SICK! As for sex in movie making, all I have to say is, "HELL YEAH!" Porn is the second greatest creation only beat out by the creation of this website, and even at that it is a close competition. I'm not going to ask women about sex in the work place. First of all, I'd get fired for sexual harassment. Secondly as a wise man once told me, being a male Caucasian in the US, I really don't mind one way or another. Darryl: WHOAH! Calm down, big daddy! I'm just saying that you can often hear women accuse men of thinking with something other than their brains, i.e. the wrong head. Although this isn't even remotely true of either of us, I do know men that fit the description. To go back to the SONG, I can see where you'd come up with your interpretation. Lines like "Why you wanna givin it all away" could easily be interpreted as a sign of a sarcastic take on the song -- if you weren't familiar with the song's true history. Jerry: Alright!!! I just did a search on IMDB (Internet Movie Database) and there is not and there has never been a movie in production or produced called "Big Yellow Taxi." Inform us all when you get back to reality. I no longer see any weight to your interpretation at all. Darryl: Just because it didn't show up on some random movie web site that doesn't mean it didn't exist. Anyway, I might have mis-remembered the movie title. Now that I think about it, the movie wasn't called "Big Yellow Taxi". I think it was called "Taxi Driver" or something. Oh, and I think the song wasn't used in the movie. Actually, I'm pretty sure the song didn't have anything at all to do with the movie. Oops. My bad. Jerry - Summary: Well that's just great! That was officially nothing but a huge waste of my time! |
Counting Crows - Big Yellow TaxiThey paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got till it's gone They paved paradise and put up a parkin' lot 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've got till it's gone They paved paradise, and put up a parkin' lot 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 till it's gone They paved paradise and put up a parking lot Hey now, they've paved paradise to put up a parking lot Why not? Listen, late last night, I heard the screen door swing, 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 till it's gone They paved paradise and put up a parking lot Hey now now, don't it always seem to go That you don't know what you got till it's gone They paved paradise to put up a parking lot Why not, they paved paradise They put up a parking lot Hey hey hey, paved paradise and put up a parking lot I don't wanna give it Why you wanna give it Why you wanna givin it all away Hey, hey, hey Now you wanna give it I should wanna give it Cuz you're givin it all away, no no I don't wanna give it Why you wanna give it Why you wanna givin it all away Cuz you're givin it all givin it all away yeah yeah Cuz You're givin it all away hey, hey, hey Hey, paved paradise, to put up a parking lot la,la, la, la, la, la, la ,la ,la ,la ,la Paved paradise, and put up a parking lot |