A long time ago, in 1965 or so
I met a man with a face, it was a real disgrace
Pictures he took and put them in a little book
So ambitious was he, he even took a picture of me
Then one day, he opened up a studio (start recording now)
He tried to make it pay, making hit records, you know
And he asked me along, write him a little song
I got the studio free, just sign this paper for me
You got to__ take good care of business, my friend
Take good care of yourself
You got to__ take good care of business, my friend
Otherwise you'll end up on the shelf (oh yeah)
Later on, after I wrote that song
Even heard it played up on Radio One (Radio One)
Manager said, "Money all gone away
You spent it, you see, up and down the country"
You got to__ take good care of business, my friend
Take good care of yourself
You got to__ take good care of business, my friend
Otherwise you'll end up on the shelf
Well, I started to say, "I mean, we've got to play
What else can we do? We're not clever like you"
Then, said he, "You know how I am fair
You can sign to the company for another ten year"
You've got to take, take good care of business, boys
Take good care of yourself
You've got to take, take good care of business, boys