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, 
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 adict prancing on the stage 
Might have money and drugs at your commands, 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 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 be a state trooper, you might be an young turk 
You may be the head of some big TV network 
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame 
You may be living in another country under another name. 

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 construction worker working on a home 
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome 
You might own guns and you might even own tanks 
You might be somebody's landlord you might 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 taking bribes on the side 
You may be working 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 
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread 
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed. 

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed 
You're gonna have to serve somebody, 
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 Jimmy 
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy 
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray 
You may call me anything but no matter what you say. 

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