Context

This line is from the song "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell from the album Ladies of the Canyon (1970).

Every day you drive past the same ol' park, with the same ol' boring trees and the same ol' stinky flowers. Then, hey, look at that: a Chipotle! What used to be there again? Oh, that's right. Nature. Who needs it? It just makes us sneeze anyway.

Joni Mitchell definitely prefers begonias to burritos, and in 1970 she sang about how sad she was that all the plant life of the world was being wiped out in favor of asphalt. Better for allergies? Yes. But for the Earth? Probably not.

Where you've heard it

You hear this when your friend is binging on ice cream and sad romance movies after a break-up. Or when your local park is bulldozed to make room for another strip mall.

Additional Notable References:

• Covered by the Counting Crows, with assistance from the poor man's Michelle Branch, Vanessa Carlton.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This is just an estimate, unlike our other scientifically accurate pretentious ratings. The exact level of pretentiousness here depends on what they're putting up a parking lot for. Food pantry? Great! Big box store? Noooo.