Ethos in "Big Yellow Taxi"

Songwriter Joni Mitchell, writer and singer of “Big Yellow Taxi” appeals to Ethos, mostly extrinsically. Throughout and beyond her career, Mitchell served as an activist for the Environmentalist movements. Her passion for the environment is expressed explicitly in many of her songs as she presses for better treatment of the world around us. Joni observed the harm that humans were doing to the environment and lyricized those findings in order to spread her message across the nation. Aside from her observations, Mitchell’s education at Calgary’s Alberta College of Art provides further credibility to her arguments. This is important as, an educated author tends to be one the audience is able to trust more deeply. In the span of her career Mitchell wrote and performed a multitude of songs in support of the environmentalist movement including “Big Yellow Taxi”, “Woodstock”, and “Little Green.” The wide variety of songs on this topic lends credence to the idea that Mitchell was truly an educated and passionate member of the environmentalist movement. Joni Mitchell in the song "Big Yellow Taxi" appeals to Ethos extrinsically in the audience through her role environmental activism, prior education, and additional environmentalist songs.

Sarah Neydon