Serve Yourself (Anthology Version) - JOHN LENNON - HOME RECORDING (1980) SERVE YOURSELF (ANTHOLOGY VERSION) (c) 1985 Lenono Music steve taylor :) Chords used: EADGBE D: x00232 A7: x02020 D7: x00212 G7: 320001 RIFF [play D, but emphasize these strings]: E:-----------------------------------------------------------------------| B:-----------------------------------------------------------------------| G:--2-2-2--2--2--2--2----------------------------------------------------| D:--0-0-0--3--0--0--0----------------------------------------------------| A:-----------------------------------------------------------------------| E:-----------------------------------------------------------------------| D You say you found Jesus Christ He's the only one You say you've found Buddha Sittin' in the sun G7 You say you found Mohammed Facin' to the East D You say you found Krishna Dancin' in the streets Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew And it's your mother (your mother, don't forget your mother, lad) G7 You got to serve yourself D Ain't nobody gonna do it for you You got to serve yourself Ain't nobody gonna do it for you A7 G7 Well you may believe in devils and you may believe in lords D But if you don't go out and serve yourself, lad, ain't no room service here It's still the same old story A bloody Holy War A fight for love and glory Ain't gonna study war no more A fight for God and country We're gonna set you free We'll put you back in the Stone Age If you won't be like me - 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 Well you may believe in devils and you may believe in lords '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 Sittin' on his ass 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, now you're being heard') You got to serve yourself Ain't nobody gonna do for you You got to serve yourself Ain't nobody gonna do for you ('that's right, lad, you better get that straight into your fuckin' head') You got to serve yourself ('you know that, who else is gonna do it for you, it ain't me 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 may believe in bloody Woolworths But there's something missing in this whole bloody stew And it's your mother, your poor bloody mother ('she worked for you in the back bedroom, full of piss and shit and fuckin' midwives. God, you can't forget that awful moment, you know. You should have been in the bloody war, lad, and you would know 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 A fight for love and glory Ain't gonna study no more war A fight for God and country, and the Queen and all that We're gonna set you free 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! End on D 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)