diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 44f78e470..17169a617 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ ver 0.16.5 (2010/??/??)
   - the "seek" command works when MPD is stopped
   - restore song position from state file (bug fix)
   - fix crash that sometimes occurred when audio device fails on startup
+  - fix absolute path support in playlists
 * WIN32: close sockets properly
 * install systemd service file if systemd is available
 
diff --git a/src/playlist_song.c b/src/playlist_song.c
index 1a543a0b8..827098655 100644
--- a/src/playlist_song.c
+++ b/src/playlist_song.c
@@ -114,9 +114,7 @@ playlist_check_translate_song(struct song *song, const char *base_uri)
 
 	if (g_path_is_absolute(uri)) {
 		/* XXX fs_charset vs utf8? */
-		char *prefix = base_uri != NULL
-			? map_uri_fs(base_uri)
-			: map_directory_fs(db_get_root());
+		char *prefix = map_directory_fs(db_get_root());
 
 		if (prefix == NULL || !g_str_has_prefix(uri, prefix) ||
 		    uri[strlen(prefix)] != '/') {
@@ -127,6 +125,7 @@ playlist_check_translate_song(struct song *song, const char *base_uri)
 			return NULL;
 		}
 
+		base_uri = NULL;
 		uri += strlen(prefix) + 1;
 		g_free(prefix);
 	}