Added: 3 years ago
From: willybeable
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  • I love how she modulates her voice, dipping down into the lower register to punctuate certain words.

  • took all the trees and put them in a museum hahaha

  • This is a rip off of Janet Jackson.. How dare she..

  • @deewon4 Ummm you must be a rocket scientist as this was written and recorded in 1970 inspired by a trip Joni was on in Hawaii. In order for Janet to record this should would've had to have been a mere 4 yrs of age impressive for even a child from The Jackson family!!

  • @LEEKYLE99 You fell for the bait, you dickhead. Look at your proud proud fact-filled explanation, you sad sad lowlife chump. Proves I am at least closer to rocket science than you are. What a douche!

  • @deewon4 Wanna tissue?

  • @deewon4 Janet sampled this

  • Dilla forever!

  • Joni Mitchell, Counting Crows, they're both good. Can't we all just take a moment to appreciate that it's not Bob Dylan singing this?

  • This was written and recorded originally by Joni Mitchell. Counting crows came much later. Do a search on wikipedia for Big Yellow Taxi and you'll get the real story.

    Amazing voice. Amazing woman. Goes to show also that there was a time when we could look different in our own weird way, have our own differences in voices, and we'd be loved. Now, all of Hollyweird is obsessed with sameness, same plastic surgeon, same anorexic bodies, same noses, same same same.

  • REMEMBERING JONI FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE IN TIME-THIS WAS QUITE THE SONG IN ITS DAY-A TREE HUGGING SONG BEFORE THERE WERE TREE HUGGERS-BUT SHE GOT THE MESSAGE(S) ACROSS...

  • Nowadays strange things happen to my comments.

  • ty god i found the video ive been listening to cinderella this 1 is MUCH BETTER

  • i used to think it was "pave paradise put a F-ing lot the first time I heard this xD

  • looks inbreed

  • I respect her for giving us a great song. But really, who would even know this song if it wasn't for the remakes. Everyone calling each other out, get over yourselves, who are you to criticize?

  • @OriginProdiigy It was a very big song, long before the remakes. Each time has it's own way of appreciating music. Not necessarily better, just different.

  • on the guys version i thought he was saying put up a fucking lot

  • At 1,16 its so sweet! Love her voice!

  • mmmm nice

  • @NicholasTheKeyHolder no, the people who liked the video have good taste in music and like the song. There's nothing wrong with that, and if you feel that way then up yours

  • @gferkmm I have no complaint with the tune, the lyrics are straight out of the '60s and full of environmental crap. and her voice sucks and wow, mellow out dude peace jk

  • What's wrong with the people that liked this?! Let me guess '60's hippies, am i right?

  • @NicholasTheKeyHolder Dear Child, Nothing is wrong with the people that liked this, they simply have the musical sophistication and depth that I hope you live long enough to obtain. Go well.

  • @inemcik you just proved him right, child. 

  • Does anyone know where to find any correct tabs for this? I can see that she has a capo on the 4th fret, and no tabs I have found are accurate to this.

  • DILLA

  • I never realized how much Vanessa Carlson contributed to the CC version of this song until I heard this version.  This isn't really my cup of tea. It's alright, but I like the CC version better.

  • Many songs have been remade by artists who are good. Sometimes it's better or it's worse. I think it's not right to alter a great song to make it sound like crap. Or to take a great song and do it in a rap style. That really is low. I say...appreciate the music...and enjoy it. I am glad that some of the kids today appreciate the classics. Thank you for not only for that ...but for saying your age. Then I KNOW you will cherish the great music for a long time. 2 thumbs up to you!!! Keep rockin.

  • @Muffett53 most of the younger generation wouldn't even know about these classics if it weren't for rap remakes... that how we as rap artist show our appreciation for the classics... also we use them for inspiration as that is shy i'm listening to this now

  • The little airport on Orcas Island is taking pavement out and putting back the meadow. Unpaving paradise.!

  • I love how this whole song is abt eco activism and the end she's like "yea and my bf left me"

  • 19 people worked on the parking lot construction crew

  • Is it just me, or is her voice so perfect, that there's moments that sound like auto-tune...

  • @wighatsuperreggie It was that perfect. There was no auto-tune when she did this. She was popular because of her singing and song-writing skills; not because of crotch and tit shots. Things were different then.

  • im 3 and a half months old and i know this song...someone please love me...and for those of you who couldnt tell, mrliljim94 was trolling you. if you dont know what trolling is, google it.

  • So true:)

  • The most beautiful voice I have probably ever heard

  • Lovely Song ♥ She Have A Beautiful Voice

  • She has a great voice, so sweet.

  • Thumbs up if you know Joni mitchell never lied

  • @duboi82  rlly? no wonder her voice sounds so pure!

  • Plus @MrLiljim94 I don't get how someone of your amount of cockiness could be so wrong. I mean, come on... I'm 12 and I know join wrote this... I mean honestly? People please don't blame this on the lack of musical talent in this sort of generation, because I still have musical taste despite this. Thanks for letting down the side, Liljim94... Now a new stereotype has been developed because of your rude, naive and unnecessary criticism. :) join is great.

  • @Littlemisskizzyrain Nobody cares how old you are

  • I love everything about joni and this song :)

  • Heck, I'm only 14 years old and KNOW Joni's original is better than anything Counting Crows has ever done.

  • @CraZnanC ehhhhhh no

  • blows

    

  • @lafrance693 Yes you do.

  • Loved this song then -always will. Relevant then.Even more so now.

  • i dont even like this song period but at least in the original it clearly sound slike paved paradise put up a PARKING lot when in the counting fags song it sounds like "put up a f****** lot"

  • this version is good but i like the counting crows one better

  • Hope isn't lost for my generation, I'm 18 and like Joni's version much better than the Counting Crow's cover.

  • @DirgeofRuin I dont 100% see how hope isnt lost for yuor generation. It was never really lost, but The counting crows version is good. Of course this is better, but not by a lot. Both versions are great and even so. The counting crows is a 90's band. There is still hope even if you listen to them and their version. There's plenty of hope if you listen to both is what im saying because it shows that you can listen to people across the decades.

  • I love Counting Crows and there version, but there's nothing like the original. =)

  • i think the cd version is better. this sounds pre puberty

  • the Crows did this better? you are so stupid, this girl wrote this song around 40 years ago now!!! Firstly write a song that has meaning 40 years into the future then play  live TV by yourself with just a wooden ( a guitar) and see if a band can with every production tool available since the Beatles to the Chemical brothers +every commercial production technique since web was invented in a studio recording:Crows would be ashamed to hear the point of the song get lost in a debate Jani!!!

  • the Crows did this better? you are so stupid, this girl wrote this song around 40 years ago now!!! Firstly write a song that has meaning 40 years into the future then play live TV by yourself with just a wooden ( a guitar) and see if a band can with every production tool available since the Beatles to the Chemical brothers +every commercial production technique since web was invented in a studio recording:Crows would be ashamed to hear the point of the song get lost in debate Jani!!!

  • they dont make music like this anymore :( really tragic cause we have to put up with "rihanna and the autotunes" haha

  • a parking lot would've eased congestion on the outskirts of paradise. Nevertheless, nice song.

  • The cretin who says this was written by Counting Crows should be used as rubble for the next parking lot!

  • Joni Mitchell has a fabulous voice. Some of the comment here is clearly from some people whose average IQ is about that of a lentil!

  • @duncan3623 please...let's not insult a lentil!!!!

  • my dad used to sing this when i was a kid.

  • This cover sucks.

  • @MrLiljim94 Cover? She wrote it!

  • @HenrytheWolf lol I don't think so, the Counting Crow's released this about five years ago.

  • @MrLiljim94

    Joni Mitchell wrote this song in the 70s...

  • @profmusic1 That's a load of shit. I met Joni Mitchell once and she told me she ripped off Robert Smith from the Counting Crows.

  • @MrLiljim94 You sir, are a Liar. Joni Mitchel is 67. she was at the most 30 in this video. so unless your gonna tell me that Robert Smith wrote Big Yellow Taxi in the 3rd grade, I'm gonna call you a fool, an idiot, and a detestable person.

  • @HenrytheWolf He did. She told me she stole the song from a nine year old along with his lunch and Evel Kneviel doll.

  • @MrLiljim94 What dose it feel like to be an Imbecilic mongoloid twit?

  • @HenrytheWolf I don't know, how "dose" it feel to be a barely literate, inbred mutant?

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  • @MrLiljim94 Joni wrote this in the 70's check your music facts, Big yellow Taxi, written by Joni Mitchell. she was 30 when she wrote this, she is about 78 now.

  • @HenrytheWolf Hmmm ... more like 67

  • @Seasass I was a little to pissed, i pulled a random number out of the air. :) but I get mad when people attribute genius to mediocrity.

  • @HenrytheWolf Understandable :) MrLiljim94 is only 16, so I'm sure 40 years seems like an unimaginable eternity for him. Hopefully, you've piqued his interest in that wonderful era.

  • @Seasass Well sadly, I don't think i did. Piquing someones interest by calling them an asshole never has positive consequences. But even a cynic like me can hope that he will accept that none of the great songs that stand the test of time, were written less then 20 years ago. and that he lives in an era were there is no true musical talent.

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  • The point is .. Shame on you Baby boomers .. shame on you for Bush, for deregulation, for lowering the education standards, and for brainwashing you home land .. shame on you for singing this .. and letting it happen anyway..

  • She should have put some make up on jeez.

  • The Origional is the Origional Nothin else Compares !!!

  • If I didn't know any better, I'd say they paved paradise and put up a parking lot...

  • She's so fucking cute.

  • ^^

  • big chune!!

  • i've been looking for this for ages lol. heard on my name is earl and i loved it =p

  • Where's Janet? Kidding.

  • Why does she giggle at 1:14 when she talks about the birds and the bees? Kind of leaves me with the impression that she's a huge slut.

  • I do enjoy the Counting Crows, but their version does definitely suck - it's so BLAND and SLOW they sucked the life right out of the song.

  • This lovely lady is still one hot mamma with a pair of vocal cords that were kissed by angels.

  • @djmcquade1 ok the songs awesome but this women is not hot let me tell you this o.o

  • @mgs4metalgear4 You must be the Prince of all women.

  • Amazing!

  • SO good!

    

  • yea the crows tweaked it way too much and where is the warmth of Joni's acoustic guitar??

  • Im probably gonna get completely FRIED for this... But, in my honest opinion, I dont like this one. The voice kinda grates on me... it cracks a lot. I like Counting Crows quite a bit more. Sorry guys!

  • @Alton753 you're not alone on this one. This version isn't bad but I also prefer the counting crows one

  • Joni Is the artist that I heard this song from in the 70s on AM raido. She is still the best.

  • the days when music was just brilliant poets a few chords and songs that meant something

  • She got it right the first time.

  • put up a fucking lot

  • @pian0playa714 LMAO I thought I was the only one that thought that is what it said (counting crows of course)

  • Cute, natural and unpretentious - a girl to take home to meet mom

  • The best singer songwriter ever. Thanks for posting

  • tho i must say coyote from last waltz is her best, just my opinion

  • i think she is canadian and not sure if she is dead, but hey we all will be someday

  • joni an american treasure

  • @viperset

    You're right there. If you're American, you should be proud of her. It's a shame she's gone.

    I'm not an obsessed fan, but I'm just showing a friend this song tonight. She's so great here. Such a loss that she's gone, but outweighed tenfold by her amazing life, and amazing skill.

    Fantastic.

  • we don't know what we've got till it's gone.....

  • I wonder what might be going through the minds of the 11 joyless people who voted thumbs down on this video.

  • @LarcheOsborne The only people who could vote this song/artist/video thumbs down are obviously not in touch with reality -- are just plain and simple -- haters..........

  • I love that you can't actually "put UP" a parking lot. And the tree museum lines are so accurate.

  • This song is more relevant now than it was 30+ years ago. She and her music were the background for my environmental past, present and future. ;-)

  • don't tell me only black people got soul, lol.

  • she has the smoothest voice like... ever.... its just beautiful.

  • what a beautiful voice she has i sing this everytime i perform on stage xxxxxxxxxx

  • She is talking about what they did in Waikiki, Hawaii

  • i wanna merry her

  • You don't know what you got, till it's is gone! Talent, song writer, instrumental and then perform. It's just amazing that some one hasn't come along since Joni that can make music? Jesse.

  • "They paved paradise and put up a parking lot".... ok, it's sorta catchy but for real poetry you might try Maxim Le Forestier's song... mais vous devez etre francophone pour l'apprecier. It's almost worth learning French for (together with Mon Frère, La rouille, and other Le Forestier songs). It's on yt at /watch?v=XFD6y7-AhOY

  • You rock Joni ... song lyrics speak as loud today as they did back then ..

  • would someone singing like that today really have a chance???? I really doubt it :/

  • @JazBlogShow uhh how about like every artist that uses autotune....

  • she is using a Martin guitar..her voice is amazing..

  • haha

  • She kinda looks like a female version of Neil Young

  • she is beyond my words, but i'll try.........pure, beauty, unadulterated, honest, happy

  • Maybe they chopped the trees down to make acoustic guitars...

  • shes a freaking hippie

  • @HoVa094 And she's wonderful.

  • i love this song

  • shes channeling the goddess of the universe or something. joni was just epic.

  • is this the original version?

    but I like the version of counting crows more.

  • just brilliant! and thanx for not copyrighting and removing joni.

  • the last comment was nasty.

    you're lucky the vid is still here for posterity, you ingrate! I saved it ... have u?

  • Counting Crow's version sucks.

    This is the first time I have heard Joni Mitchell sing it - and it is brilliant!

    in the counting crows version instead of 'Paved paradise and put up a parking lot' it sounds like 'paved paradise and put up a f**king lot.' - listen to it and convince me otherwise.

    This has a down to earth feel...far better than the commercialized counting crow version.

  • convice you otherwise ? well here. get your hearing checked !! and stop being so close-minded

  • @rab2591 too right!!

  • @rab2591 well just write yourself a song that sucks and you can be a millionaire also

  • @rab2591 Counting crows suck. that wouldn have been enough for my thumbs up.

  • @rab2591 Yeaaaah I know what ya mean and the original's always gonna be better but their version brought the song to the attention of a generation who otherwise wouldn't have heard it, so...

  • @dermotwalker you right the sad thing is the last 2 generations know about this song the only thing that has changed is....

  • @rab2591 Counting Crows' version is absolute garbage. And I'm not just saying that because I grew up with this version. <3

  • @Daedalus1776 agreed.

  • @rab2591 I know, right? Counting Crows got nothing on Joni. If My Name Is Earl can see this (they featured this version of the song in an episode) then everyone should.

  • sure counting crows sound 'better'

    but she wrote it and ment it more than anything!

  • She wrote this song, give your some credit

  • Go suck shit vad.

  • you dont know clasic when you hear it

  • When I was young around 1969, our family used to go to a farm in western wisconsin that had rolling hills and a natural cold clear spring that came out of a pipe in the hillside nearby that many people around would get drinking water from.

    Years later, some jerk bought the property and refused to let anyone take HIS spring water.

    Interesting that that area also had a multiple UFO sighting in 2001. I guess they came for the water? ;D

  • yes the counting crows coverd this song also

  • Are there other people beside Janet Jackson that covered this song ?

  • vkheartofice--to me, amy grant did the best cover of this song years ago. counting crows also did it, but i didn't think it was a very good version.

  • Cretsina, I was just looking at some before and after photos of my hometown. They were taken from airplanes. 1958 and 2009. Totally beautiful countryside in 1958, filled with condos abd apartments now, 7-11's, valero gas stations. You can love the aftermath of development all you want so a few developers can be rich. Me, I know it was FAR MORE RICH in the before images! My face in my hands, my eyes soaking wet...are you one of the rich developers? ...or just one of their pawns?

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  • Cretsina, I do indeed take your remark as a very high compliment, indeed. But, truth is, I'm only poorly composed compared to the meaning of this song. I think you'd be surprised if you knew the people who have admired Joni Mitchell for singing this. Hugh Hefner, Ronald Reagan, Prince Charles, Michael Jackson, the millions who bought it...cretsina, sometimes a person needs a rethink, even about life itself. Notice, I'm talking with, not at you. a nice walk in nature, an all day walk,visit her

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  • you're dumb

  • Comment removed

  • I sure that this song was in some animation movie or siries?????????

    someone remember???????/

  • It was in a scene of My Name Is Earl when Randy eats the moisturizer and starts seeing everything as 3D models.

  • what tuning is it in

  • Love this song!

  • Nowadays every girls voice is squeeky and still they get to be pop queens.. I love this version, it's the original. And it's hers.

  • I thought I was the only one who noticed it. :/

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  • But you should you should give it its original title. Big Yellow Taxi - referring to the color of the police cars in Hawaii is just not right. I think the real title is They Paved Paradise.