Lord, I'm a working man

And music is my trade


I'm travelin' with this five-piece band


I play the ace of spades




I have a wife and family


Who don't see much of me

God bless the absentee





Lord, I am a surgeon

And music is my knife


It cuts away my sorrow


And purifies my life




But if I could release my heart


And veins and arteries

I'd say, "God bless the absentee"





I miss my woman so

I miss my bed


I miss those soft places


I used to lay my head




My son don't need me yet


His bones are soft

He flies a silver airplane


He wears a golden cross




God bless the absentee





Lord, this country's changed so fast

The future is the present


The presents in the past


The highways are in litigation

The airports disagree





God bless the absentee

God bless the absentee




God bless the absentee


God bless the absentee