[Verse 1]
"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 them 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

[Chorus]
But 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

[Verse 2]
I deal in dreamers
And telephone screamers
Lately I wonder what I do it for
If l 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
[Chorus]
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