Album: Court And Spark (1974)

Charted: 22

License This Song 

• The way I see it, he said, you just can't win it
  Everybody's in it for their own gain
  You can't please 'em all
  There's always somebody calling you down
  
  I do my best
  And I do good business
  There's a lot of people asking for my time
  They're trying to get ahead
  They're trying to be a good friend of mine
  
  I was a free man in Paris
  I felt unfettered and alive
  There was nobody calling me up for favors
  And no one's future to decide
  You know I'd go back there tomorrow
  But for the work I've taken on
  Stoking the star-maker machinery
  Behind the popular song
  
  I deal in dreamers
  And telephone screamers
  Lately I wonder what I do it for
  If I had my way
  I'd just walk out those doors
  And wander down the Champs-Élysées
  Going café to cabaret
  Thinking how I'll feel when I find
  That very good friend of mine
  
  I was a free man in Paris
  I felt unfettered and alive
  Nobody was calling me up for favors
  No one's future to decide
  You know I'd go back there tomorrow
  But for the work I've taken on
  Stoking the star-maker machinery
  Behind the popular song Writer/s: Joni Mitchell
  Publisher: Reservoir Media Management, Inc.
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 16

• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn September 8th 1974, Joni Mitchell appeared* at the 'New York Summersault '74' at the Roosevelt Raceway in Westbury, Long Island, New York...
  At the time her "Free Man in Paris" was in its second of two weeks at #24 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart...
  {See next post below}...
  It reached #2 {for 1 week} on Billboard's Adult Contemporary tracks chart; the week it was at #2, the #1 record for that week was "I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton-John...
  * Ms. Mitchell performed a thirteen song set at the show, but according to concertsgalore.net "Free Man in Paris" was omitted.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn September 11th 1974, Joni Mitchell appeared in concert before 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London, England...
  At the time "Free Man in Paris" was at #24 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart; seventeen days later it would peak at #22 {for 2 weeks} and spent 14 weeks on the Top 100...
  Also appearing at the concert were Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young and the Band...
  Ms. Mitchell, born Roberta Joan Anderson, will celebrate her 71st birthday in two months on November 7th {2014}.
• Lyn from Mobile, AlIt took me a long time to become a Joni Mitchell fan. By that I mean, to grow up enough to appreciate her. When I was younger, if I wished I could be any singer, it was Robert Plant - and I'm female, LOL. Now, in my - ah hem - mature years, I'm going back and revisiting music from my kid and teen, and even 20s years. Joni Mitchell, without doubt, is now my favorite singer/songwriter. I'm only sorry it took me nearly 30 years to get to know her genius.
• Paul from Washington Dc, DcJoni is Euterpe incarnate. I know that ROLLING STONE dissed it all to blazes but Hissing of Summer Lawns is my favorite album of all time.
• Blake from Stevensville, MdIs this song all in 4/4 timing or is the intro in a different time?
  
  Blake, Chester,MD
• Reed from New Ulm, MnIt's so hard to pick a favorite from Joni, ALL her stuff is great!
• Francia from Caracas, --I think Blue is the best, but all of her albums are great, so as she
• Roman from New York City, NyThe MINGUS album is genius, Dylann - listen closer - or even listen to a little Charles Mingus.
• Nicole from Massapequa, NyFrom an article by Johnny Black in Blender, September 2004
  
  "I wrote that in Paris for David Geffen," Mitchell has explained, "taking a lot of it from the things he said." Geffen and Mitchell went a long way back. He had been her agent at the start of her rise to fame in the '60s, and by the time she wrote "Free Man in Paris," he owned the record label for which she (along with the Eagles, Jackson Browne and Dylan) was recording. The pair were such close friends that they even shared a house, but despite wide speculation about a romantic entanglement, theirs was more akin to a Will & Grace relationship.
  Although Mitchell was pleased with the song, which features David Crosby and Graham Nash on backing vocals, Geffen was not so sure. "He didn't like it at the time," she says. "He begged me to take it off the record. I think he felt uncomfortable being shown in that light."
  
  
• Kate from New York, NyBest album is Blue, no? I mean, come on!
• Donna from Olympia, WaActually, in my opinion Hejira is her best album. The combination of players (Jaco Pastorius playing bass) and the slight jazz element make it a supreme album, although Court and Spark is is right up there. Blue is also fantastic, too.
• Glenn from Evansville, InCourt and Spark, definitely her best album.
• Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScYeah, some of her later stuff is really good. Most of that comes from the 1990's. I like her stuff from the 1960's and 1970's better.
• Dylann from Los Angeles, Cahow can anyone not like her. even AFTER the mingus album helloo.
• Bonnie from Washington, DcJoni's one of my favorites, too, at least she was before the Mingus album.
• Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScThis is a great song, but Jonie Mitchell is one of my favorite artists anyway.

More Songfacts:

Tubular Bells (Part 1)Mike Oldfield

The Exorcist theme music is a portion of "Tubular Bells," a 25-minute song released by 19-year-old Mike Oldfield.

Islands In The StreamKenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.

Light of DayBruce Springsteen

Back To The Future wasn't the only movie where Michael J. Fox rocked out: He sang with Joan Jett in the 1987 movie Light Of Day, with a title track written by Bruce Springsteen.

BrickBen Folds Five

The Ben Folds Five song "Brick" is about a difficult time when Folds' girlfriend got an abortion.

Rocket ManElton John

Elton John's "Rocket Man" is based on a Ray Bradbury story called The Rocket Man published in 1951.

Liberian GirlMichael Jackson

Michael Jackson's "Liberian Girl" opens with the South African female singer Letta Mbulu saying the Swahili phrase "Naku penda piya-naku taka piya-mpenziwe." There was some geographic liberty here, as Swahili is not spoken in the West African nation of Liberia.

Editor's Picks

Rickie Lee JonesSongwriter Interviews

Rickie Lee Jones on songwriting, social media, and how she's handling Trump.

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.

Don DokkenSongwriter Interviews

Dokken frontman Don Dokken explains what broke up the band at the height of their success in the late '80s, and talks about the botched surgery that paralyzed his right arm.

Donny OsmondSongwriter Interviews

Donny Osmond talks about his biggest hits, his Vegas show, and the fan who taught him to take "Puppy Love" seriously.

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Little RichardFact or Fiction

Was Long Tall Sally a cross-dresser? Did he really set his piano on fire? See if you know the real stories about one of rock's greatest innovators.