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 them all There's always somebody draggin' you down I do my best and I do good business There's a lot of people askin' for my time They're tryin' to get ahead They're tryin' to be a good friend of mine I was a free man in Paris I felt unfettered and alive There was nobody callin' 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 I had my way I'd just walk through those doors and wander Down the Champs Elysees Going café to cabaret Thinking how I'd feel when I find That very good friend of mine I was a free man in Paris I felt unfettered and alive There was nobody callin' 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