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2 Samuel 18:1-19:8

O Absalom, My Son

Lyrics · 2 Samuel

O Absalom, My Son

2 Samuel 18:1-19:8

[Verse 1] David numbers the people and appoints Joab, Abishai. David publicly charges the commanders to deal gently with Absalom. David's servants defeat Israel, and twenty thousand die. Absalom's mule passes beneath an oak, leaving him caught and suspended. [Pre-Chorus] No answer came to quiet every fear, Only the weight of all that had drawn near. [Chorus] O Absalom, My Son, carry this grief through night, Tears have weight beneath the fading light. Truth still speaks when comfort has grown thin, And faith keeps breathing where the wounds begin. [Verse 2] Joab blows the trumpet and ends the pursuit. Absalom's body is cast into a pit and covered with a great heap of stones. His earlier pillar remains as the memorial of a man without a surviving son. David waits between the gates while the watchman sees two runners. [Bridge] The Cushite reports that the king's enemies should share Absalom's fate. David withdraws over the gate and cries repeatedly for his son. The army enters the city as though ashamed of defeat rather than victorious. Joab confronts David, who rises and sits in the gate to receive the people. [Final Chorus] O Absalom, My Son, carry this grief through night, Tears have weight beneath the fading light. Truth still speaks when comfort has grown thin, And faith keeps breathing when the night grows thin. [Outro] The night remained, but truth remained as well. Not every wound was given words to tell.