Mitchell, Joni - For Free Lyrics






I slept last night in a good hotel
I went shopping today for jewels
The wind rushed around in the dirty town
And the children let out from the schools
I was standing on a noisy corner
Waiting for the walking green
Across the street he stood
And he played real good
On his clarinet for free

Now me I play for fortunes
And those velvet curtain calls
I got a black Limousine and two gentlemen
Escorting me to the halls
And I'll play if you have the money
Or if you're a friend to me
But the one man band
By the quick lunch stand
He was playing real good for free

Nobody stopped to hear him
Though he played so sweet and high
They knew he had never been on their TV
So they passed his music by
I meant to go over and ask for a song
Maybe put on a harmony
I heard his refrain
As the signal changed
He was playing real good for free





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Mitchell, Joni For Free Comments
  1. r.... ....

    Oh...the day the mailman delivered "Ladies of the Canyon" to my doorstep via The Columbia Record Club was the beginning of my being conscious...I would rush home from school every afternoon-shut my bedroom door-put it on my turntable-throw myself across my bed and wile away the hours dreaming...I was 17.

  2. M.... T....

    A profoundly beautiful song by our greatest songwriter

  3. J.... B....

    Joni is the pride of Canada and for good reason

  4. B.... B....

    I saw this on Top of the Pops (the BBC's mainstream music program back then) in 1970 then didn't hear it again until I fell in love with Joni's music a few years later when I heard "A Case of You" and bought all her existing albums in one go. What a treasure trove. I still have the vynyl.

  5. M.... T....

    A true crusader in music! No one writes songs better than Joni!

  6. A.... A....

    And old lesson in music vs. fame. Joni's musical and personal honesty has made her a legend.

  7. S.... H....

    who the hell put an unlike?

  8. Y.... Z....

    This is beautiful...reminds me a little of Neil Young. It has that same melancholy. My new Joni jam.

  9. A.... M....

    Epoch Times is trash. Fuck off.

  10. A.... R....

    Here after Lana Del Rey performed it on her tour😍

    A.... R....

    And it was phenomenal!!!

  11. M.... W....

    THE Jan Hammer.

  12. t.... ....

    Yes, I know that song. ..in New York subway stations...tip the hat.

  13. K.... K....

    I saw her on the Miles of Aisles tour in Berkeley. Amazing performance. She performed the Court and Spark album plus her "greatest hits". Tom Scott and his band backing her up. Wonderful evening. Still remember it after all these years. She played this song as a solo.

    K.... K....

    Thanks Kimiko for tuning us in.

  14. j.... c....

    this was horrible, I SLEPTT LAST NIGHTT I SHOPPED I CANT PLAY MY PAINNOOOOO AND DIRTY TOWELSSSS

  15. M.... ....

    Don’t just pass buskers by and throw money into their caps or cases. If they’re good, do them the courtesy of listening to them and telling them why you like them.

  16. H.... H....

    This is a lot better without the photographs.

    H.... H....

    Thanks for tuning in.

    H.... H....

    It seems odd to me that including photos of buskers is not of value when the essence of the song is about buskers.

  17. S.... A....

    An artistic genius who overcame childhood illness, devised a unique style and became a luminous star.

  18. b.... ....

    I heard this beautiful song for the first time in my life just last night. I ended up frozen to the end because this song is too good i cannot find words to describe it. Actually i ended up trying to hold back tears because of its beauty.

  19. P.... D....

    I don't think any other celebrity from the 60s (or any other time for that matter) even wrote a single song with this theme. They came up from the street where they had nothing and were just like everyone else; then as soon as they got a hit record they bought a mansion and made out like Rome. Everybody did this: Beatles, Stones, Eagles, Presley, Grateful Dead. They pretended they were still 'of the people', but they weren't. They took the money and lived like royalty. Joni acknowledges that. Roger Waters knew it too. "I'll tell you the name of the game, boy. We call it riding the gravy train." But the guy on the corner with the clarinet played real good ... for free. Joni wrote this song, but did she give half of the cash she made to something like a children's hospital? Nope. She actually bought a piece of land that was used for a parking lot, and then later she sold it for a big profit. She wrote this song out of guilt (obviously), but she kept on doing it. They all did. And we don't care. We still give Kim Kardashian and Nicki Minaj our money. Why the hell do we do that? Because we're dumbasses. It's just like Devo said, "We're pinheads all."

    P.... D....

    You probably need to stop overthinking things.

  20. R.... W....

    The folk music of the 60's and 70's, Dylan, Joan, Judy. Peter, Paul and Mary, the Kingston Trio, Tom Rush, James Taylor, and so many others. We'll never again see an era like that!!

  21. G.... O....

    A musicians song....for musicians.

    G.... O....

    Thanks Gordy for tuning in.

    G.... O....

    It seems to be so.

  22. E.... S....

    Thanks for sharing magic

    E.... S....

    Thanks Ed for tuning in.

  23. D.... ....

    Joni is so great.

    D.... ....

    Indeed a wonderful performer.

  24. F.... M....

    Sweet.
    But the key is very minor.
    Smile, Joni!

  25. i.... ....

    I love this song and have just learn to play it on guitar after not listening to it for 30 years..... Not a criticism, but I wish she had composed it with more piano base. When you listen to it, image deep, reasonant, base chords -- it would be so much much beautiful. Someone should redo it.

  26. R.... ....

    Joni.. Regina del mio cuore

  27. G.... B....

    We love Joni at www.885fm.org

  28. �.... �....

    I slept last night in a good hotel
    I went shopping today for jewels
    The wind rushed around in the dirty town
    And the children let out from the schools
    I was standing on a noisy corner
    Waiting for the walking green
    Across the street he stood
    And he played real good
    On his clarinet for free

    Now me I play for fortunes
    And those velvet curtain calls
    I've got a black limousine
    And two gentlemen
    Escorting me to the halls
    And I play if you have the money
    Or if you're a friend to me
    But the one man band
    By the quick lunch stand
    He was playing real good for free

    Nobody stopped to hear him
    Though he played so sweet and high
    They knew he had never
    Been on their T.V.
    So they passed his music by
    I meant to go over and ask for a song
    Maybe put on a harmony
    I heard his refrain
    As the signal changed
    He was playing real good for free

    Joni added these lyrics to the song during the 1983 tour:

    Playing like a fallen angel
    Playing like a rising star
    Playing for a hat full of nothing
    to the honking of the cars

  29. S.... T....

    Love Joni. Her friend Crosby does a good version...

    S.... T....

    Thanks for tuning in.

  30. s.... a....

    Such a beautiful song !! Timeless !!

    s.... a....

    Thanks for tuning in.

  31. R.... B....

    Heard this son on the radio today 11-22-2018 just flippin thru stations. Im so glad I did. One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. It's crazy how certain songs can make u feel some kinda way.

    R.... B....

    We love Joni at www.885fm.org

  32. D.... ....

    @Gary Salisbury - You're full of uniformed entitled millenial crap! True musical artists (creating their own music, creating a style or sound never heard before, or since) like Joni Mitchell has never in her life made her music, or artwork, for money. She spent 20 years honing her artistic creativity, vocal ability & musical skill playing countless times for FREE at open mic nights at folk music clubs and other places before her art ever returned her one red cent! Money came because the beauty of her art was groundbreaking & undeniable, and millions of people worldwide wanted to own a piece of it for themselves to enrich their lives. Joni, & many other incredible true creative artist singer-songwriter-musicians of her time, are NOT computer assisted singers/non-creative, non-instrumentalist, non-songwriter, non poets like Beyonce, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus & most all others today. Every single one of those mentioned need comptures & gadgetry to sound like they can sing in tune hiding the fact that at the most they have marginal singing voices. None of then, like Joni, are virtuoso multi-instrumenalists or one of most celebrate song composers in history.

  33. g.... s....

    Mitchell's voice was an instrument in and of itself!

    g.... s....

    Thanks for tuning in.

  34. M.... ....

    Che voce cristallina💟😍 nobody plays real good now

  35. P.... F....

    super extraordinary artist Joni what a beautiful song she come so deep in my hart and saw, i love the melody the lyrics and the way she sing with such a feeling ,thx Jan H.

  36. D.... M....

    It's been nearly fifty years since I first heard this song, thank you Joni, you are a revelation still.

    D.... M....

    Hi David. Thanks for tuning in.

    D.... M....

    It's more than a pleasure Jan, best wishes, David.

  37. L.... C....

    I think she's beautiful.

  38. p.... ....

    poor little rich girl

    p.... ....

    She started out broke but the world couldn't ignore talent on this scale she wrote this song to a busker cause it took her back to when she was penniless herself.

  39. N.... N....

    Thank You for posting this, Jan. One of the most beautiful expressions of humanity ever. No surprise it is Joni Mitchell. What a beautiful person she is. Perhaps outdone only by the one she is singing about. I'm thinking it had to be Adam Stawinski in Denver. He played "so sweet and high", and he did it for free.
    Much love to you, Joni.

    N.... N....

    Thanks Nolan. This one of my favorite Joni tunes.

  40. f.... F....

    A tribute from the heart to street musicians everywhere...

    f.... F....

    Thanks for visiting the channel.

  41. K.... A....

    One of the best singer songwriters ever. What a great time in music history. Need a time machine.

  42. P.... ....

    One of the greatest albums ever recorded in SoCal -- which is saying something. Brilliant work by a genius.

  43. l.... x....

    thank u lana del rey 💖💖

  44. R.... B....

    stuff me this is awesome, me its impossible to put in context, what context

  45. p.... ....

    One of the most beautiful and haunting songs ever: the performance, the music and, especially, the lyrics.

  46. s.... ....

    Always love Joni, but thumbs down for random goons cut into the video...get a life.

  47. K.... D....

    She lifts us all up to a celestial plane.

  48. b.... m....

    1970.. a very dark year for me.. her wonderful music was such a comfort..

  49. F.... J....

    Hearing her for the first time must have been like walking into a room hundreds of years ago and hearing Bach.  How does this happen? She is so good, so true, it's like she's from another planet.

  50. b.... m....

    one of THE most beautiful songs of my life ... tears

  51. b.... m....

    Joni... LEGEND ..

  52. i.... ....

    Jan, are you the famous jazz-rock fusion guy and TV/movie music composer, or are you just using the name as a handle? I used to play Jan Hammer stuff during my music radio announcer career.

  53. R.... W....

    Joni Mitchell, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Mary Travers.... we sure had some angelic voices back then!!!

  54. L.... P....

    💕💕💕💕🎶🎶🎶

  55. J.... 0....

    Does anybody know where I can learn how to play this on guitar? I want to surprise my grandad because this is his favorite song. If you find a video can you please link it? Thank you!

  56. R.... K....

    Brilliant artist! Love you, Joni...

  57. M.... F....

    worst song ever, patronizing guff

  58. m.... ....

    There’s terrific irony in this song. The narrator of the song, Joni, bemoans the fact that pedestrians don’t make the time to listen to the beautiful playing of a street busker.
    Now, here’s the irony...neither does Joni!
    Rather spoils the message of the song, I would say.

    m.... ....

    Thanks for checking in with us. You've just explained the whole meaning of the piece.

    m.... ....

    Bloody Hell! I posted the almost exact same message two weeks apart!
    BTW, Jan Hammer, what exactly is the meaning of the piece?

  59. S.... H....

    If she were the Queen...

  60. m.... ....

    There is a interesting irony in this song. The narrator of the song ( Joni) is critical of the people in the street who don't stop to listen to the busker BUT, then, Joni doesn't stop either!
    Spoils the point of the song, really.

  61. S.... ....

    In the studio album the Clarinet comes in at the end of the song after she hit the high note. Great song, one of the best artists in the modern era.

  62. H.... *....

    The one and only, Joni.

  63. s.... ....

    Joni still give me goose bumps, randomly I can forget a song of hers  and suddenly its the most important noise I understand. I'm a 60s guy, I was lucky to have access to lots of great music. Joni peels the layers off me like an onion and reminds me what it takes to be less of a bastard. She never needed a brush to paint fabulous pictures.Love Spud Custard

  64. G.... W....

    I slept last night in a good hotel /
    My boss was Mr. McGee...

    G.... W....

    Thanks George for checking in with us.

  65. D.... K....

    so much said here ..listen and take heed

  66. S.... B....

    This makes me cry for some reason. It's my favorite JM song. Her voice and the piano are perfect together.

  67. B.... V....

    Thanks lana ♥

  68. M.... ....

    look at you kids and your vintage music

  69. i.... ....

    lana del rey brought me here.

  70. S.... W....

    Thank you Lana for your recommendation! Simply amazing. xx

  71. A.... X....

    Lana Del Rey brought me here !!

  72. I.... S....

    Thank you Lana Del Rey!!

    I.... S....

    Isaac Sharon she seems to be drawn to all the Canadian icons in music.

  73. F.... M....

    I'm here because Lana del Rey posted a video with this song playing in the background 👌🏼👑😱

  74. N.... ....

    Here first from Lana...suckas!

  75. i.... ....

    Thank you again, Lana

  76. H.... H....

    Lana del rey brought me here!

  77. L.... ....

    LANA DEL REY brought me here!!

    L.... ....

    SAME XX

    L.... ....

    She knows greatness. Joni never marketed herself at all, just a musician. Maybe the best ever. Take a look at the faces of the guys in her 1965 folkie piece Urge for Going here on YT. They were legends in the biz and after a few seconds one old guy's jaw drops. He wrote the song of the year just a few years before. They know they're in the presence of genius. And the guitar work!

  78. B.... B....

    Lana <3

  79. G.... E....

    Lana ✌🏻

  80. J.... T....

    Years ago, I abandoned arranging this song because I knew I wouldn't be able to perform it without breaking up a bit.

  81. M.... W....

    Every cut on Ladies of the Canyon is a gem. The title song has been my life's anthem.

    M.... W....

    Thanks Margaret for checking out the channel.

  82. D.... R....

    One of my favorites -- the song, the voice, the piano are all stellar. Listening to Joni makes me want to live in Laurel Canyon in the 70's.

  83. A.... W....

    Joni!!!!!!!

  84. M.... ....

    Best female song writer of all time.

    M.... ....

    Thanks for checking in with us.

    M.... ....

    Best singer songwriter of all time not just female.

    M.... ....

    @Elizabeth Scattergood Aromatherapy I'm beginning to think so. Will live on forever no doubt. This song is now 50 and sounds as fresh ss it did in 1969. A fantastic statement on the importance of music in our lives

  85. L.... V....

    We had singers who could deliver a true interpretation, moving and sing effortlessly, no effort to be in pitch, to place the voice, to cultivate vocal beauty, no need to try-hard or sound super technical and it was amazing, now we have singers like Beyoncé wich some people consider some of "Greatest" of all time for "supported range" or crap like that. Wtf. The ease, naturality of the singing of this woman combined with her musicianship and honest interpretation easily makes her one of the very greatest vocalists of all time.

    L.... V....

    Thank you for visiting The Hammer Works.

    L.... V....

    Legendary Vocalists and no need for surgery in the end!

  86. t.... ....

    .....and Britney has to use auto-cue for her voice, ha ha

  87. C.... ....

    Love, love, love Joni, and this song breaks my heart more than almost any of her many gems. Thanks for posting this version.

    C.... ....

    Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

  88. J.... K....

    Most stuff isn't very good unless it's free or nearly so.
    Sure you have to pay for a lotta stuff but Joni just says so
    and there's no way of stoppin' her. That'd be like standin' in front
    of a freight train in the boondocks. Janis Joplin was good but she's
    dead now. Didn't crash her hot porsche just parked it in a hollywood motel lot
    and od'd on heroin. Joni's different from Janice.

    J.... K....

    Thanks James for sharing your thoughts.

  89. D.... M....

    I have loved Joni for years but just discovered this beautiful song now.

    D.... M....

    thanks David for visiting the channel.

  90. G.... H....

    sings real good for a girl from Saskatoon

  91. T.... R....

    Joni, I know you will never read this or even know it was written, but I have to thank you for being alive. Thank you for all the memories and life's lessons your music brought us all. Because of you and this song I realised the best music is to be found on the streets and not on TV... or YouTube. I can not put on a melody with those I find that play real good for free, But I can leave them a $100 dollar tip from you by proxy. I always write on the bill "From Joni, You play reel good for free"

    T.... R....

    Thanks for vising the channel and for taking the time to express your thoughts.

    T.... R....

    Parking lot!

    T.... R....

    Joni and you made me cry. TY💛🙏

    T.... R....

    That gives me chills. Thank you, Tatas!!

  92. J.... S....

    Live long enough and this may be the most beautiful song you ever heard.

    J.... S....

    Day Man, I don't know what songs you've heard, but if you live long enough this may be the most beautiful song you'll ever hear.

    J.... S....

    Day Man you must have failed at being human

    J.... S....

    Day Man the reason no one responded to you is because they think it's pointless, because if you had the brain capacity to think outside the box, he actually makes perfect sense.

    J.... S....

    What have I been doing with my life. This is all new to me. And an absolute revelation

    J.... S....

    @Day Man You must just "light up" all of the parties you attend

  93. p.... ....

    reminds me of the 70's I miss those days !!!! '

    p.... ....

    I have such vivid memories of playing this song on my friend's parent's piano at Christmas time in Massachusetts. Used to love playing Joni for my friends.

  94. A.... M....

    still love this song after over 40 years.

  95. G.... S....

    Sums up the hippy mentality, the guys playing his clarinet for tips, she's thinks he's doing it for free! and instead of going over to him she writes a song about him and makes more money.

    G.... S....

    Right on! I like this song, but your comment gives perspective and is spot-on accurate. Hippy philosophy led to "culture" of irresponsibility.

    G.... S....

    I thought about this as well. Using the Yiddish term, if she were more of a "mensch", she would have dropped a big bill in his hat.

    G.... S....

    I think part of the reason she could not go over and play with him, is she had some type of inhibition that said what might happen in the situation if she were recognized.

    G.... S....

    @Gary Salisbury - You're full of uniformed entitled millenial crap! True musical artists (creating their own music, creating a style or sound never heard before, or since) like Joni Mitchell has never in her life made her music, or artwork, for money. She spent 20 years honing her artistic creativity, vocal ability & musical skill playing countless times for FREE at open mic nights at folk music clubs and other places before her art ever returned her one red cent! Money came because the beauty of her art was groundbreaking & undeniable, and millions of people worldwide wanted to own a piece of it for themselves to enrich their lives. Joni, & many other incredible true creative artist singer-songwriter-musicians of her time, are NOT computer assisted singers/non-creative, non-instrumentalist, non-songwriter, non poets like Beyonce, Rihanna, Miley Cyrus & most all others today. Every single one of those mentioned need comptures & gadgetry to sound like they can sing in tune hiding the fact that at the most they have marginal singing voices. None of then, like Joni, are virtuoso multi-instrumenalists or one of most celebrate song composers in history.

  96. d.... ....

    God, this is heartbreakingly beautiful

    d.... ....

    Yes, it is. Joni perfection, heartbreaking.

  97. d.... ....

    Poignant song about importance of appreciating buskers & how fame is not a meter of value. Sad & beautiful song. Joni's beloved. This song's a favorite.

    d.... ....

    As well as a song on what fame, wealth and class do to an artist, that she decided against her spontaneous desire to join him in a song, and how sad that made her

    d.... ....

    carol lipton oh pleeeese. it's just a song. quit trying to read all that nonsense into it.

    d.... ....

    Thanks for visiting The Hammer Works,

  98. D.... O....

    i love this song

  99. j.... ....

    I heard this for the first time just now--WOW! Why is this not more well known? VERY rich, deep, meaningful--artsy as hell. I love it!

    j.... ....

    Very popular about thirty years ago. She dated Steven Stills, then left him for Neal Young...big scandal of the time. Look them up..Wikipedia, Crosby, Stills & Nash, then they added Young. The harmonies are the result of two of the guys being in church choirs. Very tight four part harmony. My favorite songs are Wooden Ships and Carry On.

    j.... ....

    It's great you like it. I'm 60, and I remember Joni's early work, but she didn't really grab me until about 30 years ago. And then I found myself liking her various new incarnations, the jazzy vocals, all that stuff.

    I'm guessing you were born after the hippy-folk-rock era?

    j.... ....

    I was born in 1950, raised in Montana, we had no music scene of any account then.

    j.... ....

    You got it wrong. She was first with David Crosby and then with Graham Nash -- never with Stephen Stills or Neal Young.