diff --git a/ell.c b/ell.c
index cc38579..d925523 100755
--- a/ell.c
+++ b/ell.c
@@ -1116,17 +1116,16 @@ main (int argc, char *argv[]) {
 	parser_init (&parser, buf.s, buf.len - 1);
 	const char *e = NULL;
 	struct item *program = parser_run (&parser, &e);
-	free (buf.s);
-	if (e) {
-		printf ("%s: %s\n", "parse error", e);
-		return 1;
-	}
-
 #ifndef NDEBUG
 	printf ("\x1b[1m%s\x1b[0m\n", buf.s);
 	print_tree (program, 0);
 	printf ("\n\n");
 #endif
+	free (buf.s);
+	if (e) {
+		printf ("%s: %s\n", "parse error", e);
+		return 1;
+	}
 	parser_free (&parser);
 
 	struct context ctx;