• Song:

    Big Yellow Taxi

  • Artist:

    Joni Mitchell

  • Album:

    Big Yellow Taxi

This version of the song has appeared elsewhere on the internet, I've just posted it 
here so the correct version as the artist plays it is on UG.

I play it in open D tuning with a Capo on 2. Muffling the bar A and B chords in the 
intro and first verse help give the rhythm to the song. Listen to the song and you'll figure 
it out :)

Chord Shapes : All chords relative to capo
---------------

    E    A    B  Aadd2/E   E7sus4   A6    B6   E5   Emaj7
D---0----5----7----0----------0------5----7-----0----0---------------|
A---0----5----7----0----------0------5----7-----0----0---------------|
F#--0----5----7----1----------1------5----7-----3----3---------------|
D---0----5----7----0----------0------5----7-----0----0---------------|
A---0----5----7----2----------3------7----9-----5----4---------------|
D---0----5----7----0----------0------5----7-----0----0---------------|

Intro :
-------

A  A6  A  A6  A  B  B6  B  B6  B

E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E  E  Aadd2/E  E  Aadd2/E
E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E  E  Aadd2/E  E

Verse :
--------

       A         A6      A               E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

E  Aadd2/E  E

         A    A6        B            B6
With a pink hotel, a boutique and a swingin'

E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E  E  Aadd2/E  E
 hot         spot


CHORUS:
-------

 E5             Emaj7
Don't it always seem to go

          Aadd2/E                              E
That you don't know what you've got till it's gone

       A        A6       B        B6       E
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot

E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E  E
(Shoo                         bop bop bop bop


E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E  E
Shoo                        bop bop bop bop)

(Same chords for the following verses/choruses)

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

Hey farmer farmer, put away that D.D.T. now
Give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees
please
CHORUS

Late last night I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
CHORUS TWICE (with only one shooo bop... at each end)

       A        A6       B        B6      E
They paved paradise,   put up a parking lot


E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E  E
(Shoo                         bop bop bop bop


       A        A6       B        B6    E
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot


E  Aadd2/E  E7sus4  Aadd2/E  E  Aadd2/E  E
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