Gotta Serve Somebody

by Bob Dylan

From the album: The Essential Bob Dylan

Track 25 of 30 on The Essential Bob Dylan (2000).

Duration: 5:24

The Essential Bob Dylan cover art

Lyrics for Gotta Serve Somebody

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 might 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 Prancing on the stage Money, drugs at your command Women in a cage You may be a businessman 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 (serve somebody) Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) You may be a state trooper You might be a Young Turk You 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 (serve somebody) Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody (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 (serve somebody) Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Well it may be the Devil Or it might be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) You may be a preacher Preaching spiritual pride Maybe a city councilman Takin' bribes on the side May be working in a barbershop You may know how to cut hair You may be somebody's mistress Maybe somebody's heir But you're gonna have to serve somebody Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody (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 sleeping on the floor Sleepin' in a king-size bed But you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Yes indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Well it may be the Devil Or it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody (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 RJ You may call me Ray You may call me anything No matter what you say You're still gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Yes, you're gonna have to serve somebody (serve somebody) Well it may be the Devil And it may be the Lord But you're gonna have to serve somebody (Ohh yeah) (Serve somebody)

Listen On

More from The Essential Bob Dylan

  1. Blowin' In The Wind
  2. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
  3. The Times They Are A-Changin'
  4. It Ain't Me, Babe
  5. Maggie's Farm
  6. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
  7. Mr. Tambourine Man
  8. Subterranean Homesick Blues
  9. Like A Rolling Stone
  10. Positively 4th Street
  11. Just Like A Woman
  12. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
  13. All Along The Watchtower
  14. Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
  15. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
  16. Lay, Lady, Lay
  17. If Not For You
  18. I Shall Be Released
  19. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
  20. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
  21. Forever Young
  22. Tangled Up In Blue
  23. Shelter From The Storm
  24. Hurricane
  25. Gotta Serve Somebody
  26. Jokerman
  27. Silvio
  28. Everything Is Broken
  29. Not Dark Yet
  30. Things Have Changed