Taxi is one of those songs that raises more questions than it answers. For example: If one does the math, the original event happened late 40's to early 50's. It is presumed Harry the driver must be at least 35-40 years old since he says "a long, long time ago". The song was released in 1972. And surely one must have SOME form of training and experience to get behind the wheel of a cab in a large city. But yhat's just conjecture.
Anyway, the beauty of a well written popular song is the vast interpretations it can invoke. In this case, the original event was a few years after WW2. Times were different. Now he's a stoner who may have picked up the weed habit in the 60's hippie times even though he would have been much older than the hippies.
One thing I never got is why he figures other people would be offended by a sizeable tip from an ex-girlfriend. Maybe it was the only way for her to show her affection after so many years? This is what I mean when saying more questions than answers. Which is why it is such a classic song. Everyone has experience some form of this random meeting.
Taxi is one of those songs that raises more questions than it answers. For example: If one does the math, the original event happened late 40's to early 50's. It is presumed Harry the driver must be at least 35-40 years old since he says "a long, long time ago". The song was released in 1972. And surely one must have SOME form of training and experience to get behind the wheel of a cab in a large city. But yhat's just conjecture. Anyway, the beauty of a well written popular song is the vast interpretations it can invoke. In this case, the original event was a few years after WW2. Times were different. Now he's a stoner who may have picked up the weed habit in the 60's hippie times even though he would have been much older than the hippies. One thing I never got is why he figures other people would be offended by a sizeable tip from an ex-girlfriend. Maybe it was the only way for her to show her affection after so many years? This is what I mean when saying more questions than answers. Which is why it is such a classic song. Everyone has experience some form of this random meeting.