Lyrics - John Lennon - Serve Yourself Lyrics

Serve Yourself Lyrics - John Lennon

Intro:

You say you found Jesus. Christ!
He's the only one
You say you've found Buddha
Sittin' in the sun
You say you found Mohammed
Facin' to the East
You say you found Krishna
Dancin' in the street

Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew
And it's your mother (your mother, don't forget your mother, la)
You got to serve yourself
nobody gonna do for you
You gotta serve yourself
nobody gonna do for you
Well you may believe in devils and you may believe in laws
But if you don't go out and serve yourself, la, ain't no room service here

It's still the same old story
A bloody Holy War
I fight for love and glory
Ain't gonna study war no more
I fight for God and country
We're gonna set you free
or put you back in the Stone Age
If you won't be like me - y'get it?

You got to serve yourself
Ain't nobody gonna do for you
You got to serve yourself
Ain't nobody gonna do for you
Yeah you may believe in devils and you may believe in laws

'But Christ, you're gonna have to serve yourself and that's all there is to it.
So get right back here it's in the bloody fridge. God, when I was a kid.
Didn't have stuff like this, TV-fuckin' dinners and all that crap.
You fuckin' kids (are) all the fuckin' same! Want a fuckin' car now...
Lucky to have a pair of shoes!'

You tell me you found Jesus. Christ!
Well that's great and he's the only one
You say you just found Buddha?
and he's sittin' on his arse in the sun?
You say you found Mohammed?
Kneeling on a bloody carpet facin' the East?
You say you found Krishna
With a bald head dancin' in the street? ('Well Christ, la, you're goin out your bleedin' girth')

You got to serve yourself
Ain't nobody gonna do for you ('that's right, la, you better get that straight
in your fuckin' head')
You gotta serve yourself ('you know that, who else is gonna do it for you, it ain't me, kid, I tell you that')
Well, you may believe in Jesus, and you may believe in Marx
And you may believe in Marks and Spencer's and you maybe believe in bloody
Woolworths
But there's something missing in this whole bloody stew
And it's your mother, your poor bloody mother ('she what bore you in the
back bedroom, full of piss and shit and fuckin' midwives. God, you can't
forget that all too quick, you know. You should have been in the bloody
war, la, and you'da known all about it.
Well, I'll tell you something.')

It's still the same old story
A Holy bloody War, you know, with the Pope and all that stuff
I fight for love and glory
Ain't gonna study no war, more war
I fight for God and country, the Queen and all that
We're gonna set you free. yeah? all them "nig-nogs"? sure...
Bomb you back into the fuckin' Stone Age
If you won't be like me, you know, get down on your knees and pray

Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew
And it's your goddamn mother you dirty little git, now
get in there and wash yer ears!

NOTE: "[This song] was right after Dylan's song [...] "You
Gotta Serve Someone", you know - the lord, I suppose, you know.
So then he was kind of upset about that and it was a dialogue,
you know. In that sense it's fun, I mean you can hear it was
fun. He wasn't seriously against it. He showed his anger in
a way but also [...] his sense of humour." (Yoko Ono, 1998)

Writer: Lennon, John
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Humor? What's that? | Reviewer: William Lee | 2/2/13

None of you think the song is funny? SHEESH! It's as though we're back in the Middle Ages, arguing about how many angels can fit on the head of a pin, and ready to come to blows over it. And you Jesus Nerds can get off my porch; I'm not joining your stupid religion. Go knock on someone else's door. See, that's my problem with you joyless creeps: you have no wit, no style, no original thoughts. You just parrot the same tired crap in every discussion, whether it's appropriate or not. See, you've gone and made me mad! Focus, Bill! Oh, yeah, the HUMOR. Nobody mentioned it. In America, we descendants of Puritans take life (and afterlife) far too seriously to waste time laughing. Even the atheists are grim. So John's witty satire must be pinned down and stomped to death by the people who need it the most. HMMM, that reminds me of someone else, let me think......let me think....let's all THINK........

Making It Clear | Reviewer: Norton Almeida | 12/9/12

John Lennon could get the real meaning of life and had the skills and gift to pass it on to us better than any writer, priest, prophet or so-called god. The message is there for all to see. The thing is: Can you put it into practice? Will YOU do it?

What evil has he done? | Reviewer: Luis | 12/5/12

And Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him."
Mark 15:14

But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong." And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."
Luke 23:40-43

Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none.
Mark 14:55

Challenge: Name a valid, true, and just accusation of something wrong in Jesus Christ and his life.

Within You, Without You | Reviewer: Tommy N Sumner | 9/19/12

Lennon knew the meaning of life, and it lies within the mind. Too many people want to control your life when they have no idea why we are here. We are here to love one another - that is all! Power is in the mind, not in money or the gun. One day we will all realise that and the earth will see real freedom. As John said "All You Need Is Love". Now shoot me down you sad people who only know how to hate. Did Mark Chapman hate or was he a stooge for the haters?
I love this song as it points out the hypocrisy of religion, (I'm right your wrong, Blah, Blah, Blah). That Is All, Thanks.

Bitter and Twisted Shout | Reviewer: Tim | 9/9/12

Sorry John, your response to Bob Dylan was even worse than your response to Paul McCartney in 'How do you sleep?' Compare that with the beautiful and compassionate 'Roll on John' (Dylan to Lennon) on Tempest. There is no comparison! Dylan 'prays to the Lord my soul to keep'. How about you? Dylan's faith lives on. See 'Dylan, Depression and Faith - The Messages Behind the Music of Bob Dylan'.

04/08/2012 | Reviewer: lennon got the truth | 8/3/12

lennon was right, fuck christians and jesus and now see whos your mother ha christians only serve to ensnare what they miss they all become judas if they get their chance to kiss, people like john lennon and robbie williams go to heaven not fucking christians,christians dont know how they know,faith is their excuse ha what inspires their faith yeah whatevers convincing lennon told the truth and he was honest great song lennon youre a beautiful man

I took something away from these two songs. | Reviewer: J Leelin | 5/11/12

They both make a great point. I think both songs make one another stronger.
What I take away from these two songs is that you have to know that you are number one, and, in that case, everyone is number one, so you better help your fellow number ones.
The world is a top-podium spacious enough for us all!

Lennon superior | Reviewer: Omar | 11/11/11

No es posible juzgar los arreglos musicales bajo la misma medida. Para emitir un veredicto justo es necesario tomar en cuenta dos cosas: 1) Lennon consideraba muy mala la versión de Dylan, de modo que rasgar la guitarra como lo hace en esta canción pretende parodiarlo más que competir contra él. 2) Es preciso poner atención a dos ideas señaladas por Lennon en la letra, las cuales forman un argumento: a)es necesario saber a quien sirves (la historia te dirá si las 'grandes' empresas históricas han cumplido sus promesas de libertad) y b)el verdadero cambio viene cuando te ocupas de las tareas aparentemente más insignificantes, como atender a tu madre que quizás te aburra, pero que te necesita.

what a laugh | Reviewer: graham | 6/6/11

Listened to Bob and listend to john. What was john thinking. I honestly believe his reply was a total piss take. but then again, who is john lennon to take the piss out of Bob Dylan. johns reply sounds like Jim Royale having one of his rants. As far as I'm concerned, johns song is not a song, its not even a reply, it is total crap! On the other hand, Bobs gotta serve somebody reflected his stage of life at the time which I believe was sincere. How anybody can say johns musical arrangement, lyrics, presentation etc etc comes anywhere near Bobs is probably deluding themselves. In fact, how dare john lennon produce such crap to try and rival and critisise such another masterpiece from Bod Dylan. Long Live DYLAN.

Seriously? | Reviewer: Anonymous | 3/8/11

Love John Lennon and his music. This song though? It is both awful lyric wise and sound wise. Sincerely gives me a headache. It wasn't about peace, it was angry and awful. Love Dylan and Lennon, but Dylan clearly won over Lennon in these two songs.

IC | Reviewer: IC | 1/31/11

You can say that when Dylan came out and said he found God, it was simply a rushed way of fixing himself, and he couldn't handle life as it came and if he painted the illusion God was watching over him, everything would be alright.

I'm sure some born again's have had this occur, but when he says 'the power of the Lord knocked me down and picked me up again, my whole body trembled, I've been saved' etc, etc, is it really our right to say it's all bullsh*t? It comes from within, we don't know.

You don't have to serve somebody, you can live a perfectly happy life serving yourself, but when Lennon says you MUST serve yourself, what he struggles to comprehend is that serving someone else is serving yourself, and in this case, it was. You could hear it in his voice, it was evident through every song on Saved, Slow Train Coming etc. It was real and sincere. Reality and sincerity creates amazing music, clearly heard in 'Gotta Serve Somebody.'

Best John Lennon Song Ever | Reviewer: Keith Roberts | 11/23/10

I love this song. This is by far the best John Lennon song ever written. It totally explains the scam we all know as religion. Why not put your mother on top of all religion and deal with your life. I would only add cat's as a real religion.

Andy | Reviewer: HANSinFRANCE | 10/10/10

Andy said Slow Train Coming was a mildly received LP with Gotta Serve Somebody as it's hit single. He's right, the disc only won a Grammy for best LP of the year, a very mild reception indeed and it scored number 1 in several charts worldwide I seem to remember. What does it take to be better then just being mildly received, I wonder? These lyrics of John don't stand the test of time, whereas Bob's work will long be remembered, like Jesus.

Mixed Up Confusion | Reviewer: Raymond MacNeil | 9/10/10

Religion is man made and directing people to Hell.There are too many people trying to serve themselves instead of serving The Lord Jesus Christ.Jesus said put Him first and He will direct you're path.Hopefully John Lennon was saved,if not he's in hell!Jesus said that.

The Problem with Unjustifiable Belief | Reviewer: Anonymous | 3/15/10

War or peace: The problem with religion is it gives not so smart people complete and scary conviction in what they believe. You might say its what they do with it that matters, thats true. But by society treating irrational and superstitious people as if their justified in their beliefs, we allow it to be socially acceptable to hold a belief with no good reasoning. And then when some religious zealot decides to do something like fly a plane into a building or blow themselves up, we shouldn't expect any form of legitimate reasoning. We've already said its acceptable to do, and believe things for which we have no rational justification.

We all have war and peace inside us I do agree with that. But religion is to war, as gasoline is to fire.

Why Bob Dylan turned to Christianity- The 70's were over and the idealistic change that many thought was happening didn't come true. Man what a let down huh, everyone though love and peace and good will to your brother would prevail and its still the same fucked up world. Bob was always an idealist and expressed the sought after change (the times they are a changin) in many of his songs. When it didn't it had to lead to the question "well now what".
Also he was trying to get off drugs (heroin) which I hear is pretty hard to do and needed a reason, albeit a false and silly one, to go on.

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