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.