Lord, I'm a working man and music is my trade
I'm traveling 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 present's in the past
Highways are in litigation, the airports disagree
God bless the absentee
God bless the absentee