Verse 1
I walked home from school one day,
Me and my friend little Susie May.
She asked if she could come and play,
I said, “Just follow along with me,”
And I climbed that old sweet gum tree.
Verse 2
Looking back, I hear her now,
Shoutin’, “Won’t you come on down?
I need you here on the solid ground.”
But I kept on climbin’ toward the top,
I wasn’t gonna quit, I wasn’t gonna stop.
Chorus
As she stood there on the ground,
She looked up to see how high I’d climbed.
Up among the treetops, there I was,
Victorious, feelin’ like I could fly.
An angel am I.
Verse 3
Teenage years came way too fast,
For both of us they flew on past.
Off to college for a four-year degree,
Valedictorian she’d be,
But me, I stayed as high as I could be.
Verse 4
She graduated, I flunked out,
She got married, I had doubts.
How in the world could this be,
That a tree-climbin’ boy like me
Had fallen just like the leaves?
Chorus
As she stood there on the ground,
She looked up to see how high I’d climbed.
Up among the treetops, there I was,
Victorious, feelin’ like I could fly.
An angel am I.
Bridge
Life for me turned a darker fate,
Does Jesus love me, or is it too late?
Lord, have mercy on my soul,
Feels like the devil took control.
Little Susie, can’t you see?
Verse 5
At the graveside where they laid my head,
The preacher said, “Lord, rest this man.”
To the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
Susie cried and dug the hole,
Then she planted a sweet gum tree.
Final Chorus
As she stood there on the ground,
She looked up at the sky so high.
Watchin’ me climb one last time,
Up among the clouds, there I was,
Victorious, all glorious.
Now I know that I can fly.
An angel am I.
