Who was Absalom?
He was a character from the Bible, son of King David (the one who killed Goliath). He killed his half-brother for raping their half-sister. Then, he tried to over-throw David and get the throne. A battle resulted, and (against David’s wishes) Absalom was killed by King David’s Mighty Men, when his hair was caught in a tree and suspended him above the ground. David grieved for his son by lamenting, “Absalom, Absalom, my son.” I have thought about this story’s connection quite a bit. Perhaps it is about David, and how he had the “weight of the world” on his shoulders and he was worrying about Absalom. — from Teri Piatt (tpiatt@lazy.helios.nd.edu) To quote Neil: “Before I ever knew who or what Absalom was, I always loved the sound of it. I had thought perhaps it was an ancient prayer or something. There is a book by William Faulkner called _Absalom, Absalom_, which, again, I loved the sound of. I wanted to put it in the song, as a play on words with ‘absolute’ and ‘obsolete,’ but I thoug
He was a character from the Bible, son of King David (the one who killed Goliath). He killed his half-brother for raping their half-sister. Then, he tried to over-throw David and get the throne. A battle resulted, and (against David’s wishes) Absalom was killed by King David’s Mighty Men, when his hair was caught in a tree and suspended him above the ground. David grieved for his son by lamenting, “Absalom, Absalom, my son.” I have thought about this story’s connection quite a bit. Perhaps it is about David, and how he had the “weight of the world” on his shoulders and he was worrying about Absalom. — from Teri Piatt (tpiatt@lazy.helios.nd.edu) To quote Neil: “Before I ever knew who or what Absalom was, I always loved the sound of it. I had thought perhaps it was an ancient prayer or something. There is a book by William Faulkner called _Absalom, Absalom_, which, again, I loved the sound of. I wanted to put it in the song, as a play on words with ‘absolute’ and ‘obsolete,’ but I thoug
