Lord, I'm a working man And music is my trade I'm travelin' with this five-piece band And 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