They paved paradise, put up a parking 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've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
They took all the trees put 'em in a tree museum
And they charged the people a dollar an' a half just to see 'em
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
Hey farmer, farmer put away that DDT now
Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees
Please
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot
(Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
Late last night I heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi took away my old man
Don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
I said don't it always seem to go
That you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
They paved paradise, put up a parking lot (ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)
They paved paradise
Put up a parking lot
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joni Mitchell / Timothy Mckenzie / Marc Williams
Big Yellow Taxi lyrics © Crazy Crow Music, Emi Music Publishing Ltd, Stellar Songs Ltd
d.: Progress means different things to different people. Someone writing a book may say that s/he made progress because more of the book or research was written. Someone who suffered an injury and/or had surgery may say the progress was made when s/he was able to do something that person hadn't been able to do for some time, or did better physical therapy on a particular day then any day before then, and someone who is studying for a test may feel that s/he has made progress when something is remembered by the student that hadn't stuck in his or her memory in previous study sessions, and some people call building new buildings in new places is progress, but I disagree.
When I first moved to my neighborhood, there was one grocery store within walking distance of my house. Now, I have my choice of fast food restaurants that aren't much over one mile from my house, and I can even walk to my pharmacy if I choose to. Some would call this progress. To me, it's an invasion. Joni Mitchell wrote the lyrics to the song at the beginning of this blog in 1972 about Waikiki Beach on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. This beach is within walking distance of downtown Honolulu, the capital and largest city in Hawaii. LIke Hawaii has grown over the years because of its pleasant climate, Texas has grown astronomically in this century. By the year 2040, it's estimated that Texas will be the most populous state in the union. Sure, there is a lot of lan area here, but where the developers are choosing to build new houses and businesses is in what was formerly considered the distance suburbs of the large cities such as Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Austin is more than four times the size it was when I moved to Houston thirty-seven years ago, and it's still growing rapidly.
Of course, with size comes power. When Texas has the most people and the second most land area in the nation in a few years, we'll also have the most votes in the electoral college, which decides the presidency. The question is "is it worth it?" My answer is no.
This has been d.c. scot, with one man's (correct) opinion. Please join my cohost and me tomorrow for another episode of Cal.E.'s Korner.