Personal Interview. Had she chosen to publish this song twenty years earlier or later, the message would have been much less relevant due to the lack of social context. Mitchells message in Big Yellow Taxi is so well defined, in fact, that other musicians have adapted the song to further promote the message that Jodi Mitchell was originally trying to say.
My generation understood the current environmental concerns and could relate some of the lyrics in the song to certain issues, but still simply saw the song as a just that: a song. She continually uses the word they to describe who she is talking about.
She chose to report on "Big Yellow Taxi". By alluding to real subjects, Kaiser 4 she is able to provide a factual basis and logical appeal for her argument, further making what she was saying relatable and reliable for her audience, while at the same time still enforcing the idea that society is responsible for the degradation of the environment.
There's a problem with this paper. Carlson, Jody. Carlson, James.
Setting the stage for change in was Rachel Carsons environmental advocacy book, Silent Spring.