I've Been Away

The speaker describes returning after a long period in prison, feeling lonely and angry about being punished for a crime they say they did not commit. At first, the repeated promise never to “go away again” sounds like a resolve to avoid trouble. As the story develops, the speaker blames their brother Bill and threatens retaliation, turning the song’s comic, repetitive tone darker.

“Doing time” is an idiom for serving a prison sentence; the speaker calls it a waste because they claim they were innocent. The claim that “it wasn’t me” but their brother is responsible shifts the blame, while the detail that Bill owns a brewery suggests he has money and influence. The lines about Bill being “too cold and bony” imply that the speaker may intend to kill him, though the lyrics do not spell out exactly what will happen.

The song may be read as a darkly humorous tale of injustice and revenge, but the speaker’s account is not necessarily reliable: we hear only their side, and their plans sound increasingly extreme. The repeated vows also create a comic refrain, even as the threat beneath them makes the ending unsettling.