Joni Mitchell
Free Man In Paris
Court and Spark
(1974)

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201 comments:lyrics:add your comment
Foot
Apr 20, 2013 - 22:32
Like hearing Band on the Run earlier today, most of this early 70's crap we can (gladly) leave to other venues.


bachbeet
Apr 20, 2013 - 22:31
Outstanding song from a terrific album. Love the jazz influence in her music which was there from the start.


gatorade
Apr 20, 2013 - 22:30
Should be an eleven. {#Clap}


stargazer1
Mar 20, 2013 - 11:23
She's put out so much great music that it's hard to know where to settle, but this is my favorite Joni Mitchell song ever. I had the pleasure of hearing Aimee Mann sing this song (twice even), and do it real justice.




iTuner
Mar 20, 2013 - 11:18
bpkengor wrote:

I had a friend back in the day that would always say she didn't like Joni Mitchell because she always "sung between the notes". that always stuck with me.


That is a pretty good description. I prefer someone like Neko Case or Shirley Bassey who can belt out a lyric, none of the wispy weak stuff. Perhaps if her voice came down an octave.


Lazarus
Jan 16, 2013 - 18:34
Cynaera wrote:
I had this on cassette. I bought it on vinyl and wore it out. I got two CD's of it, and it's still in my CD player most times. I tried my best to learn the guitar progressions in this song, but failed, so I settled for listening to it repeatedly. This work, along with Jackson Browne's "Late For The Sky", got me through some pretty not-nice events. I can remember sitting in one of the top rooms of Bath's Rooming House in Carson City, Nevada, with my friend Peggy. (I have a picture, but I can't figure out how to upload it.) I'd just run away from home right after graduating from high school, and that room was festooned with paper flowers, dog-eared issues of Rolling Stone, and gypsy-scarves that had been purchased at yard sales. It was an amazing time for me - I had a troubadour who had a convertible land-yacht and played guitar, and who serenaded Peggy and me from the street while we sat on the balcony and threw flowers down to him.

I gathered the Rolling Stones and read them while I was trying to figure out what to do with my life, and I read an interview with Jackson Browne in one of them. That led me to Joni Mitchell, and I read whatever I could about her. Then, when I left that place with all its wonder and unnerving events, I subscribed to Rolling Stone. All the while, I had music, and Joni Mitchell was at the top of my list, along with Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, and James Taylor. Dan Fogelberg followed shortly after, as did Neil Young, Eagles, and Souther-Hillman-Furay. Yes, I ran the gamut, but "Court and Spark" still remains one of my favorite pieces of music. And this song, in particular, continues to resonate with me. I truly believe that whatever dubious gifts I possess in the creative realm, I owe to Peggy, Rolling Stone, Joni Mitchell, and Bath's Rooming House.


I know what you mean...

miss you...



On_The_Beach
Dec 16, 2012 - 13:28
bh1 wrote:
. . . This & Hissing of Summer Lawns are my favorites of hers . . .

The Hissing of Summer Lawns is my fave as well. Great album.


bh1
Nov 15, 2012 - 00:51
Her guitar work is hard to emulate, she uses lots of alternate tunings. Not sure if she got into it from David Crosby or the other way around, but she & CSN were close back in the day. Crosby & Nash do backup on this album I believe. I always thought it funny that she wrote Woodstock but didn't bother to go, and they made the song a hit after they did go. This & Hissing of Summer Lawns are my favorites of hers, latere when she got nto her jazz mode the music became less accessible to me.


Antigone
Oct 14, 2012 - 16:22
1974?? No, it can't be. It was just yesterday, it's so fresh. To me.


robbeek
Aug 12, 2012 - 15:49
Great song, no doubt, but THE version is found on "Shadows and Light," recorded live. Pat Methany, Lyle Mays (sp?), Jaco Pastorius (sp? again) are all a part of an amazing back up band. You can here all of them, Joni included, as they know they are making magic!


Bozo
Jul 12, 2012 - 05:22
Saw her on the Court and Spark tour at the Syria Mosque in Pittsburgh with Tom Scott and the LA Express:music was perfect and Joni was beautiful in a red dress (it was Valentine's Day, 1974) could be one of the most perfect shows I've ever seen.


neotrogg
Mar 07, 2012 - 08:32
narareth cover of this flight tonite Dig It! maybe you could dig it up Bill with a lot more Narareth minus hair of the dog and love hurts!


deepwoodskev
Mar 07, 2012 - 08:21
terrapin52 wrote:

Sounds like you don't like the natural sound of a woman's voice.

Huh? I don't think that has anything to do with it.


Stratocaster
Jan 26, 2012 - 08:48
I was a free man in Paris, I felt unfettered and alive,
Nobody was calling me up for favours, no-one's future to decide.
And I'd go back there tomorrow, but for the work I've taken on,
Stoking the star-making machinery behind the popular song.


To me, just stunning lyrics. The whole package just works for me. Love it, a 9.




coloradojohn
Dec 03, 2011 - 02:39
The first few notes take me back; her incredibly expressive voice and vibrant words color it all in...and I find that it still SHINES mighty fine...


jmsmy
Nov 01, 2011 - 12:29
David Geffen on vacation in Paris - around 1973.



ncollingridge
Nov 01, 2011 - 11:46
Quite wonderful and exquisite.


terrapin52
Sep 30, 2011 - 18:15
iTuner wrote:
Fireproof suit on, but Joni Mitchell is fingernails on a chalkboard to me. The good thing about this song is that its short.

Sounds like you don't like the natural sound of a woman's voice.


gemtag
Aug 30, 2011 - 08:39
iTuner wrote:
Fireproof suit on, but Joni Mitchell is fingernails on a chalkboard to me. The good thing about this song is that its short.

I'd hate to see what makes your hit list...


deepwoodskev
Aug 30, 2011 - 08:39
scraig wrote:
Her voice makes me melt

Her voice makes my ears melt.


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