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A2.1·folk·2:15

Big Yellow Taxi

Joni Mitchell · 1970

Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell (1970) — selected for the English-through-music catalog. Use the sing-along prompts and exercises to drill pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening comprehension.

💡 Click the CC button on the player for synced captions.

⏱ Timestamps may not be synchronized — edit them via Personalize on the Songs menu.

Lyrics + translation · letras.mus.br

🎤 Sing along

Sing with the chorus

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)

Sing it again — final chorus

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

don'tpavedparadise

Definitions: Cambridge Dictionary · Translation: MyMemory

Exercises

Exercise 1

Fill the blank in this line:

Theyparadise, put up a parking lot

Exercise 2

Fill the blank in this line:

Don't itseem to go

Exercise 3

Fill the blank in this line:

They pavedput up a parking lot

Exercise 4

Fill the blank in this line:

(Ooh,ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop)

Exercise 5

Fill the blank in this line:

They paved paradise, put up alot

Exercise 6

Fill the blank in this line:

Heyfarmer put away that DDT now

Exercise 7

Translate this line to Portuguese:

They paved paradise, put up a parking lot

Exercise 8

Translate this line to Portuguese:

I said don't it always seem to go

Exercise 9

Translate this line to Portuguese:

They paved paradise

Exercise 10

Translate this line to Portuguese:

Ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop, ooh, bop-bop-bop-bop

Exercise 11

Translate this line to Portuguese:

Hey farmer, farmer put away that DDT now

Exercise 12

Choose the missing word:

They ? paradise, put up a parking lot

Exercise 13

Choose the missing word:

Don't it ? seem to go

Exercise 14

Choose the missing word:

Don't it always ? to go

Exercise 15

Choose the missing word:

They paved paradise, put up a ? lot

Exercise 16

Choose the missing word:

Late ? night I heard the screen door slam

Exercise 17

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 18

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 19

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 20

How many times do you hear the word "don't" in the whole song?

"don't"

Exercise 21

How many times do you hear the word "paved" in the whole song?

"paved"

Exercise 22

Describe the mood of "Big Yellow Taxi" in three adjectives. What part of the song makes you feel that way?

don'tpavedparadiseparking

Exercise 23

Who in your life would you dedicate "Big Yellow Taxi" to, and what line captures what you want to say to them?

don'tpavedparadiseparking

Exercise 24

Compare "Big Yellow Taxi" with a Brazilian song you know. Do they share a theme? How do their styles differ?

don'tpavedparadiseparking

Exercise 25

Write the full form of each contraction:

don't→
you've→
it's→

Exercise 26

Imagine you are making a short film with "Big Yellow Taxi" as the soundtrack. What scene would you show while the chorus plays?

don'tpavedparadiseparking

Exercise 27

Rewrite the chorus of "Big Yellow Taxi" in your own words — keep the meaning but change the style (formal, slang, poetic, whatever you like).

don'tpavedparadiseparking

Exercise 28

The singer makes a claim or statement in this song. Do you agree with it? Use evidence from the lyrics to support your answer.

don'tpavedparadiseparking

Exercise 29

If you had to summarize "Big Yellow Taxi" in one sentence to someone who has never heard it, what would you say?

don'tpavedparadiseparking

Exercise 30

Which single word from this song do you think carries the most emotional weight, and why?

don'tpavedparadiseparking