GOTTA SERVE SOMEBODY

Words and Music by Bob Dylan
1979 Special Rider Music


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Home -Eternal Circle- Lyrics List Album List


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.

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You 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 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 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,
You may be living in another country under another name

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 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 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 preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You 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 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 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,
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, 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.

I added this to the religion section
because of it's spiritual content.

I find the words to be very powerful...
and especially coming from a man
who has experienced great success
fame, power and fortune...

all of the things on an earthly plane
this man has earned and won..
He still speaks of a reverence to God
and the fact that no matter who we are
and no matter where we stand in life..
we are all going to have to serve somebody.



It is one thing if you see someone on skid row
preaching the gospel...
you think ....well...
he is down on his luck....
He has nothing else..

But when you see people who have experienced
such accomplishment, fame and fortune...

like bob dylan, van morrison, eric clapton,
connie seleca and her husband john tesh
and so many more

all giving praise and proclaim their faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ...

That is something really to ponder and behold...

Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

...As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord...

Amen...Spider and heatherrae...


the Lord is doing a mighty work among us

Praise His Holy Name

as for me and my house....
we will serve the Lord Jesus!!!

Luke 22:26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve.

I find the verse above to be applicable in the place I work.

Romans 9:12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

This verse came true for me when an old resident helped me when I was upset with this one young nurse one night. I was wanting to tell the young nurse, "Hey, lady I was doing this kind of work when you were in diapers." I was changing this old lady's briefs(adult diapers) and she said while in dementia, "We all need help now and then". Man, did that old lady burst my bubble.

Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein, we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

Oh, yeah. The nurse and me had this argument. Here she is fresh out of college and going to tell me how to do my job. She is upset that when I threw the dirty brief I would cause cross contamination when it hit the floor when I missed the trashcan. I am thinking, "Hey, the resident is important, too. Would you rather I let the resident fall in the floor to get rid of the brief so that I don't break the cross contamination law or that I protect the resident and not worry about dirty brief?" "Let the dirty brief bury the dirty brief." (Let the dead bury the dead.) The resident is what is important not the dirty brief." Good thing she has a sense of humor.

ahhhh....hillfolk ....

God bless you, Bro...

It is tough doing the work you do..
it takes an incredible amount of
physical mental emtional and spiritual strength
as well as endless love and the patience of Job
as well as a very strong stomach
to do what you are doing...

I know..I've been there ...

I'll keep you in my prayers .... brother

Hey, thanks. I need all the help and prayer I can get, Sis.

i learned late in life to turn it over and let go.ask for help,seek Him
and the last 3 1/2 yrs have been the best.
Thank you Rapunzel,love you sister

I think John Lennon said "serve yourself." I'll go with him on that one.

You are welcome... HillFolk

You are earning jewels on your heavenly crown

cause there surely aren't too many
earthly rewards,
sometimes, for that kind of work...
and there are not nearly enough people
who would even begin to tackle the kind of work you do







Lonny..925...You are so cool...
thank you for your kindness...
I love you too...Brother..

johnjekn...Thanks for dropping by....

I do not recall john lennon saying to serve yourself...

I remember him saying that all you need is love
and to give peace a chance ...

You have the freedom to believe what you do...
soldiers are risking their lives daily for our freedoms

and my family and others have served
and still do serve in the war
to preserve my freedom too
and I have the right to express myself too..

and I just want to say that I do not agree with you at all..

I think that self-centered
"every man for himself" attitude
is just the absolute worst....

He wrote a song called "Serve Yourself", which, as I understand it, was a direct response to the Dylan song above.

That said, I am huge Dylan fan, and could care less about the Beatles and their outgrowths.

johnjekn....and your point is?

johnj whats up with the self serving,self centered comments.your all over the place.stay focused and be positive or esad. have a nice day

925....!!!!!


good for you, Lonny.....


you are so right on....


thanks for the back-up !!!!!