“free man in paris” by joni mitchell
note : joni mitchell changes octaves in the smoothest way ever , and
she often “slides” her voice into the next chord . ie; from regular A ,
to barred A , imo . you need to really listen to this song a lot , to get
the rhythm changes of her vocals to match the strum pattern .
the intro and the instrumental are just my “campfire version” , with no
intent of exactness .
the “lick” right after verse 1 is probably best skipped for one guitar ,
unless you’re a pro , which i Am not . your tips are welcomed , as this is my
first tab or chord rendition .
standard tuning
+++++++++++++++++
odd chords
Em9 x20002
Asus4 x2220x ( or try Am )
ba = barred a on the 5th fret
intro : ( barre the F , G , and A )
one strum : C D F F . . . F . . . . gxa .
or
F . G . A . . . Dm . C . A ( strumming “barred a” right into verse )
A ( /Barre A ) D
the way i see___ it he said , you just can’t win it ,
G
everybody’s in it for their own gain; you can’t please ’em all ,
F A
there’s always somebody calling you down ,
ba D
i do my best and i do good business ,
G
there’s a lot of people asking for my time ,
they’re tryin’ to get ahead;
C A
they’re tryin’ to be a good friend of mine__ ,
( optional lick before chorus ) E – – – – – 9h10 – 9 – 10 – 9 –
B – – 10 – – – – – – – – – – – – 10
chorus
A F
i was a free man in paris ,
G
i felt unfettered and alive ,
C Asus4 D
there was nobody callin’ me up for favours
A
and no – ones future to decide ,
F
you know i’d go back there tomorrow
G
but for the work i’ve taken on ,
C Asus4 D A
stokin’ the star maker machinary behind the popular songs .
( my inaccurate instrumental )
Em9 . . . . a__ . . . . . Em9 . . . . a__ . . . . . Em9 . . . . a__ . . . . .
C D F C D G A C D F C D G A
verse 2 :
A ba D
i deal in dreamers and telephone screamers ,
G
lately i wonder what i do it for; if i had my way ,
C ba
i’d just walk through those doors , and wan – der ,
A
down the champs elysees;
D G
going cafe to cabaret , thinking
how i’d feel when i find ,
C A
that very good friend of mine__ ,
chorus :
A F
i was a free man in paris ,
G
i felt unfettered and alive ,
C Asus4 D
there was nobody callin’ me up for favours
A
and no – ones future to decide ,
F
you know i’d go back there tomorrow
G
but for the work i’ve taken on ,
C Asus4 D A
stokin’ the star maker machinary behind the popular songs .
( outro chord bit )
A C D F C D G A
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