You can't judge a book by looking at the cover No, you can't judge a man by looking at the cover And you can't judge a book by looking at the cover When I was young and went to school My mama taught me the magic rule And what she said I tried my best to follow, she said "You can't judge a book by looking at the cover No, you can't judge a man by looking at the cover And you can't judge a book by looking at the cover" Then I left school and moved around And what I saw and what I found Made me remember what she said to follow, she said "You can't judge a book by looking at the cover No, you can't judge a man by looking at the cover And you can't judge a book by looking at the cover" And now I think, by now I'd know That what appears is not always so And I remember what she said to follow, she said "You can't judge a book by looking at the cover No, you can't judge a man by looking at the cover And you can't judge a book by looking at the cover"