You can be a righteous rocker, you can be a holy roller
You could be most anything,
You could be a Leon Russell, or a super muscle,
You could be a corporate king,
You could be a wealthy man from Texas, or a witch with heavy hexes,
But without love, you ain't nothing without love
Without love you ain't nothing, without love.

You could be a brilliant surgeon, or a sweet young virgin,
or a harlot out to sell,
You could learn to play the blues, or be Howard Hughes
or the scarlot pimpernell,
Or you could be a French provincial midwife,
or go from door to door with a death-knife,
But without love you ain't nothing, without love,
Without love you ain't nothing, without love.

You could be a woman feeler, or a baby stealer,
you could drink your life away,
Or you could be a holy prophet, get a blessing off it,
Or you could fast for fifty days,
You could shake hands with the devil, or give your life to God on the level,
But without love you ain't nothing, without love,
Without love you ain't nothing, without love.