Gotta Serve Somebody

Bob Dylan © 1979 Special Rider Music

(Official lyrics @ www.bobdylan.com)

Slow Train Coming session 5, Muscle Shoals Studio, Sheffield AL - 4.may.1979, take 1  
Slow Train Coming session 5, Muscle Shoals Studio, Sheffield AL - 4.may.1979, album version  
Rehearsal with horns, Rundown Studios, Santa Monica CA - 9 Oct 1979  
Fox Warfield theater, San Francisco CA - 15 Nov 1979  
Massey Hall, Toronto ON - 18 Apr 1980  
Freileichttheater; Bad Segerberg Germany - 15 Jul 1981  
Earl's Court, London, England - 27 Jun 1981  

You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed 
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the devil or it may be the lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might be a rock'n'roll addict prancin' on the stage
Might have drugs at your command, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high degree thief
They may call you doctor or they may call you chief
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the devil or it may be the lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk
May be the head of some big tv network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
May be livin' in another country under another name
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the devil or it may be the lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

May be a construction worker workin' on a home
Might be livin' in a mansion, you might live in a dome
You may own guns and you may even own tanks
You may be somebody's landlord, you may even own banks
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the devil or it may be the lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman takin bribes on the side
May be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir
But you're gonna have to serve somebody
Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the devil or it may be the lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
Might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
May be sleepin' on the floor, sleepin' in a king-sized bed
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the devil or it may be the lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.

You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
You may call me Bobby or you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything, no matter what you say
Still you're gonna have to serve somebody
Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody
Well it may be the devil an' it may be the lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody.