Absalom, Absalom

Pierce Pettis
Universal Music Publishing

Fr. Jamie Howison once asked me to learn and perform this Pierce Pettis song for an event the purpose of which I no longer remember. But I certainly remember how the song first impacted me. Any parent who has watched a child grow to adulthood knows the agony of wishing we could have given more, loved better. We are so grateful for the good we were able to muster; while at the same time we grieve the wounds we have passed on. Finally, we must return children to God and trust that grace will have the last word.

Lyric:

Come and smear me
With the branches from that tree
Hyssop dipped in innocent blood
To make me clean
Let an old man’s broken bones
Once more rejoice
Absalom, you were my little boy

Absalom, Absalom
My son, my son, my son
Caught in the tangles of deciept
Hanging lifeless from that tree
Absalom, Absalom
My son, my son, my son
Caught in the tangles of your hair
The fruit of my own sin to bear
Oh Absalom

You were the laughing boy
Who bounced upon my knee
You learned to play the harp
And use the shepherd’s sling
Always watching my impressionable son
Absalom, what have I done

You were watching
When I took a good man’s wife
And gave the order for his murder
Just to cover up my crime
All the vanity, cruel arrogance and greed
Absalom, you learned it all from me