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...from the album: JONI MITCHELL AT NEWPORT (July 19th 1969)

In the words of Joni Mitchell:

Intro

There's a young man in New York City, I don't know his name, but he's blind, and he sits on the street and plays his clarinet
for whatever money people will give him. I've often ridden past him and wondered about his life, and I've written this song
for him. It's called "He Played Real Good For Free."

The Song

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 fortune
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 TV
So they passed his music by

I meant to go over and ask for a song
Maybe put on some kind of harmony
I heard his refrain as the signal changed
He was playing real good
For Free

- Joni Mitchell

ps: Joni's one-time boyfriend, David Crosby (1941-2023) covered this song in 2021, and named his 8th studio album: "FOR FREE"
It has been in Crosby's "live" repertoire since the 1970s.

Brucester

Joni Mitchell: "He Played Real Good For Free" (BBC version in 1970/not Newport)