Free Man in Paris
| "Free Man in Paris" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Joni Mitchell | ||||
| from the album Court and Spark | ||||
| B-side | "People's Parties" | |||
| Released | July 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | Folk jazz, jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 3:02 | |||
| Label | Asylum | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Joni Mitchell | |||
| Producer(s) | Joni Mitchell | |||
| Joni Mitchell singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Free Man In Paris" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. It appeared on her 1974 album Court and Spark, as well as her live album Shadows and Light. It is one of her most popular songs.[citation needed] It is ranked No. 470 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Background[]
The song is about music agent/promoter David Geffen, a close friend of Mitchell in the early 1970s, and describes Geffen during a trip the two made to Paris with Robbie and Dominique Robertson.[1] While Geffen is never mentioned by name, Mitchell describes how he works hard creating hits and launching careers but can find some peace while vacationing in Paris. Mitchell sings "I was a free man in Paris. I felt unfettered and alive. Nobody calling me up for favors. No one's future to decide."
Composition and style[]
The home key of the song is A-Major. The frequent substitution of "flatted" scale degrees (flat-6 and flat-7; that is, in A-major, F Major and G Major in place of F# Minor and G# Diminished) adds a jazzy folky color to the song.
Reception[]
Billboard described it as having a "good mix of acoustic and electric instrumentals" with Mitchell's "distinctive vocals."[2]
Bob Dylan selected it for inclusion on the Starbucks compilation album "Joni Mitchell: Selected Songs" in 2005. For the album's liner notes, Dylan wrote: "I always liked this song because I'd been to Paris and understood what being a free man there was all about. Paris was, after all, where freedom and the guillotine lived side by side. I'm not so sure that the meaning I heard in the song was what Joni intended but I couldn't stop listening to it".[3]
Chart performance[]
"Free Man in Paris" went to number 22 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to number two on the Easy Listening chart.[4]
Notable versions and covers[]
- In the 1970s, an instrumental version of the song was the theme music used for CBC Television's The Saturday Evening News, which aired at 6 p.m. till 1982 when it was replaced with Saturday Report.
- "Free Man In Paris" has been covered by Aimee Mann
- Neil Diamond
- Sufjan Stevens (on the album A Tribute to Joni Mitchell)
- Adrienne Young
- Phish
- Elton John
- Alanis Morissette
- JoJo who changed the title to "White Girl in Paris".[5]
- In April 2000 the song was performed by Elton John at an all-star celebration of Mitchell, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, presented by the TNT network.[6]
Personnel[]
- Joni Mitchell — vocals, guitars
- Tom Scott — woodwinds
- José Feliciano, Larry Carlton — electric guitars
- Wilton Felder— bass
- John Guerin — drums
- David Crosby and Graham Nash — backing vocals
References[]
- ^ Joni Mitchell looks at both sides now: her hits – and misses, by Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times, December 7, 1996.
- ^ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. July 13, 1974. p. 47. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
- ^ "Joni Mitchell Library - Joni Mitchell and Starbucks Hear Music Produce and Release Two New CDs: Starbucks.com, February 22, 2005". www.jonimitchell.com. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 172.
- ^ "Jun 25, 2010 Setlist". Phish.net. June 2, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
- ^ "Joni Mitchell – A Chronology of Appearances". Retrieved September 3, 2016.
External links[]
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
- Robertson, Robbie. "Free Man in Paris Interpreted". PBS.
- 1973 songs
- 1974 singles
- Joni Mitchell songs
- Songs written by Joni Mitchell
- Song recordings produced by Joni Mitchell
- Asylum Records singles