h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

On the radio this morning they played Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi from 1970, which told us they put the trees in a museum and charged a dollar and a half to see them. In 1995 Amy Grant released a version where they charged 25 bucks.

I have two questions: If someone recorded it today, how much would they charge to see the trees? And, are there any other examples of inflation in songs?

Deb

I dont think my favourite version even mentions the trees:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnyqVRijCNw

(and dont you just hate that ~cute~ chuckle near the end of the original? )


On a related theme...Paul Simons America. ~Pass me a cigarette, I think theres one in my raincoat.~ He wouldnt be allowed to smoke on the bus nowadays! Plus, gabardine suits are out of fashion.

Not sure about the tree thing but These foolish things by Bryan Ferry needs to change currency

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA2SeBW2Vqw

Wild strawberries only 7 francs a kilo

Heaven 17's 1983 hit "Come Live With Me"

#I was 37, she was 17' becomes

'I was 65, she was 45...'

Two hours of pushing broom buys an eight by twelve two bit room.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmOe27SJ3Yc

Probably not...plus thats well below minimum wage.

From a well-known insurance salesman...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvcKX4gK18Q

Sweet 50 in leather boots is, face it, slightly more of a niche market.

Not quite inflation, but bringing it up to date.

Try singing "I've got a brand new pair of in-line roller blades, I'll give you the 4 digit PIN, which might invalidate the warranty, but you'll never get past the biometric security system anyway, so...."

A thousand pounds? For a cowbell?????

The answer is the admission charge at the UK's National Arboretum, in Westonbirt, Gloucestershire:

http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6xcmk2

Adults are currently charged between £6 (winter) and £9 (autumn) to see the trees. The pretty colours of the leaves justify the 50% price hike during that season.

Or you could arrive before the kiosk is manned, and pay via the honesty box...

Or you could go for a walk in your local wood, for free.

It doesnt always hold true, mind:

~And the operator said forty cents more for the next three minutes~

Thats about right for a PAYG call to a landline, isnt it?

'Handbags and Gladrags' exhibits an interesting phenomenon, of whose significance I am uncertain. The Rod Stewart version says "your poor old granddad sweats so you can buy," whereas the more recent Stwereophonics version says "your poor pold granddad had to sweat to buy you." What's going on there?

"Buddy, can you spare a dime?" may need uprating. This is from 1930's Depression-era America where beer cost a dime a pint. Checking current prices in NYC, the song should now say "Buddy, can you spare $2.89?"

"Get rhythm when you get the blues
Hey get rhythm when you get the blues
It only costs $5, just $2.50 a shoe
Does a million dollars worth of good for you
Get a rhythm when you get the blues"

Tommy Steele's 'Half a Sixpence' must be worth more than its face value of 1.25 new pence today.

I suspect that like Tony Capstick, he could have got a tram down into t'town, bought three new suits an' an overcoat, four pair o' good boots, seen George Formby at t'Palace Theatre, got blind drunk, 'ad some steak an' chips, bunch o' bananas an' three stone o' monkey nuts an' still 'ad change out of a farthing.

I'd put 12 times that lot (12 farthings in half a sixpence) at around £7,500 today.

Before Ken Livingstone banned pigeons from Trafalgar Square, how much did the vendors charge for birdseed? I bet it was a damn sight more than...

Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag.

I doubt whether anyone would get a hit with "she Was Only Sixteen" these days, it would have to be "She Told me She was Eighteen!"

I think it's still okay if the singer is also around 16.

True, but then why would he be saying she's 'only' 16? The implication is clearly that he's a lot older.

half a sixpence
Is better than half a penny
Is better than half a farthing
Is better than none


Is still true, though. Although a farthing is probably quite a collector's piece these days and might be worth a tenner!

Or older.

Though not in Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas (17) or Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin or Wyoming (18).

Which rules out a fair few Rock n Roll states.

And if this is anything to go on, in The Peoples Republic of Merseyside, its 17, if you know what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhllDK6C6eQ