"Free Man In Paris" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell and appeared on her 1974 album Court and Spark. The "Free Man" is David Geffen, who was the agent and promoter in charge of Mitchell's record label. The song is about the pressures the music industry puts on their artists.

Mitchell and Geffen rose the ranks together and became close friends.  In the late '60s, he was establishing himself as an agent.  The two confided in each other and Geffen would often talk about the pressures he faced as a high-powered music mogul.

Mitchell wrote "Free Man in Paris" based on what he told her during a trip the two made to Paris with Robbie Robertson and his wife Dominique.  Paris was where Geffen felt most alive and unencumbered, where nobody could call him up and ask for favors and he had no one’s future to decide.

David Crosby and Graham Nash, who were good friends with Mitchell and also Geffen clients, sang backup on this track. José Feliciano was also a contributor on this track since he had known Mitchell from his days performing in Canada.  He was working on another project at the A & M studios in Los Angeles when he heard the song coming from Mitchell's studio and offered to play electric guitar on the song.

Mitchell used jazz musicians on her Court and Spark album, since the guys who recorded with the likes of Jackson Browne and James Taylor didn't give her the nuance she was looking for. Tom Scott played the flute, and members of a group called the L.A. Express played other instruments: Larry Carlton (guitar) and John Guerin (drums).

Various Sources