For Free
(Joni Mitchell)
I slept last night at a good hotel
I went shopping today for jewels
The wind rushed around in the dirty town
And the children let out from their schools
I was standing on a noisy corner
Waiting for the light to turn green
Across the street he stood
And he played real good
On his clarinet
For free
Now me I sing for fortunes
And those velvet curtain calls
I’ve got a black limousine
And I’ve got two white men
Escorting me to the halls
I will sing if you’ve got the money
Or if you are a friend to me
But the one man band
By the quick lunch stand
He was playing so good
For free
Now nobody stopped to listen
Though he played so sweet and high
They knew he had never been on their TV’s
So they passed his music by
I meant to go over and ask him to play a song
Maybe put on some harmony
But I heard the refrain
As the red light changed
And he was playing so good
For free
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I will sing if you’ve got the money
Or if you are friend to me
But the one man band
By the quick lunch stand
He was playing so good
For free
But that one man band
By the quick lunch stand
Whoa, he was playing real good
For free