For Free

(album: For Free - 2021)

I slept last night in a good hotel
I went shopping today for jewels
The wind rushed around this dirty town
And the children let out from their school

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 these velvet-curtain calls
I got a black limousine and the finest lady
Escorting me to these halls

And I'll play if you have some money
Or if you're a friend to me
But that one-man band
By the quick-lunch stand
He was just playing real good for free

Now, nobody, nobody stopped to hear him
Though he played so sweet and so high
They knew he'd never been on the TV screen
So they passed his music by

I meant to go over and ask for a song
Maybe put on a harmony
I can still hear his refrain as the signal changed
He was just playing real good for free