Free Man In Paris

“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 through those doors And wander Down the Champs Elysees Going cafe 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”