"The way I see it," he said 
"You just can't win it
Everybody's in it for their own gain 
You can't please 'em all 
There's always somebody calling you down 

I do my best 
And I do good business 
There's a lot of people asking for my time 
They're trying to get ahead 
They're trying to be a good friend of mine
I was a free man in Paris 
I felt unfettered and alive 
There was nobody calling me up for favors 

And no one's future to decide
You know I'd go back there tomorrow 
But for the work I've taken on 
Stoking the star maker machinery 
Behind the popular song
I deal in dreamers 
And telephone screamers 
Lately I wonder what I do it for 
If l had my way 
I'd just walk out those doors 

And wander 
Down the Champs Elysees 
Going cafe to cabaret 
Thinking how I'll feel when I find 
That very good friend of mine
I was a free man in Paris 
I felt unfettered and alive 
Nobody was calling me up for favors 
No one's future to decide 
You know I'd go back there tomorrow 

But for the work I've taken on 
Stoking the star maker machinery 
Behind the popular song.