Indeed - the idea is similarly vapid in both songs.
But the tune of "Big Yellow Taxi" is infectious and upbeat - it has fun with itself. Her later music has become both less experimental and less fun, while becoming more self-conscious and ponderous.
And the lyrics of "Big Yellow Taxi" are more, well, lyrical. They scan nicely and are alliterative. She was a better writer at the age of 27 than she is now at the age of 64.
I think you’re thinking of another of her songs - unless you think the writing in “Big Yellow Taxi” was vapid and lyrical at the same time. (Late last night she heard the screen door slam and a “Big Yellow Taxi” took away her “old man.” Now “don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone - they pave paradise and put up a parking lot. Doo wah wah wah wah.” Also included in the song is the line about “putting all the trees in a tree museum and charging a dollar and a half just to see ‘em.”) It does have a catchy tune, though.