He Went to Paris

He went to Paris
Looking for answers
To questions that bothered him so

He was impressive
Young and aggressive
Savin' the world on his own
But the warm summer breezes
The French wines and cheeses
Put his ambition at bay

His summers and winters
Scattered like splinters
And four to five years slipped away

Then he went to England
Played the piano
And married an actress named Kim
They had a fine life
She was a good wife
And bore him a young son named Jim

And all of the answers
To all the questions
Locked in his attic one day
'Cause he liked the quiet
Clean country living
And twenty more years slipped away

Well, the war took his baby
Bombs killed his lady
And left him with only one eye
His body was battered
His whole world was shattered
And all he could do was just cry

While the tears were a-fallin'
He was recalling
Answers he never found
So he hopped on a freighter
Skidded the ocean
And left England without a sound

Now he lives in the islands
Fishes the pilings
And drinks his green label each day
Writing his memoirs
Losing his hearing
But he don't care what most people say

"Through eighty-six years of perpetual motion"
If he likes you, he'll smile and he'll say
"Jimmy, some of it's magic, some of it's tragic
But I had a good life all of the way"

And he went to Paris
Looking for answers to questions
That bothered him so