Acclaimed singer songwriter Joni Mitchell has found herself in hot water or would forest fire be more apt? Joni Mitchell is one of those artists whose name you know but find it difficult to attribute any of her work to said name. In case you are unaware she is the originator of the song that goes, “pave paradise and put up a parking lot”; which to some was made famous by the Counting Crows. Today’s story however, is found due to the murkiness of Ms. Mitchell’s musical musings.
The year is 2020, what we have on our planet are trees. An abundance of trees perhaps less than ever but ton the less. While we do have a culprit/protagonist, let’s pretend it is you whom this story is about. Assume you are a powerful executive of sorts. You have more money than a bank vault that just won the lottery so you turn elsewhere to find your kicks. You drive through Northern California with the roof of your Alfa Romeo down and the radio notch up. When a classic jingle infects the airwaves. Before you know it you’re snapping your fingers, blinks last a little longer as you lose yourself in the playful tune of Mitchell’s heightened pitch. You, the capital gainer, are consumed by this cautious tale. “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone… paved paradise put up a parking lot.” “And what if something were to happen to my parking lots?” You think to yourself. “I don’t want to only know what I have when it’s gone!” You turn the volume up even further to see if the singer has any tips for you to secure what is yours and never fear again. You lean in. “Took all the trees and put ‘em in a tree museum. They charged the people a dollar and a half just to see ‘em.” “That’s it!” With the immediacy of a foot falling asleep, you are struck with an idea. “I’ll open up a tree museum. Then with the extra money I’ll build more parking lots to make sure I never have to fear losing them again. Thank you Joni!”
You spring into action. Call all of your departments, any favors owed and have them hack away at all the nearby forests. Within a week you open your first tree museum. Of course you have to account for inflation and calculate that a dollar and a half is about 10 dollars today, it’s all Joni wanted. You’re feeling good about your decision. Even though there are still innumerable forests people come to your museum. They see maples, sycamores, pines and oaks, and whatever else the boys chopped down. It turns out an air conditioned warehouse is a much more convenient place for people to appreciate nature. It’s not so great for the trees, but when these start to die you can just go and get more. Word spreads like a forest fire and Joni’s hard core fans hear about this. They claim it to be a wild misconstruction of her song and demand you to dead end your deforestation. Protests form, hashtags are swatched, hands are cuffed and people tie themselves to trees. You feel you must speak out even though business has carried on unscathed. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is true, I was inspired by Joni’s touching song ‘Big Yellow Taxi’ to pave paradise and put up more parking lots. I now realize I listened to the song from a different perspective. But I will not apologize. Isn’t art special because of the many forms in which it can gestate? We all heard the same song yet all took something new from it. I would wager a cab driver decided to not quit because he heard a song written for him, and how many swingin hot spots are you now able to dance in? All I’m saying is parking lots and museums with trees are my paradise.” The protestors are adamant about their stance and continue to disgruntle. However you have said your piece and spoken your truth and the sun keeps shining just like that taxi, big and yellow.
As for Ms. Mitchell no one actually blamed her for the misappropriation of her song and I only opened the article that way to bait you into a click. Hope I haven’t lost your trust forever!
