Alberta

The speaker addresses Alberta, who has been away for a long time. He says he has missed her and has had no affection since she left. The repeated questions and refrain make the song feel like a simple, direct expression of longing, though the mood shifts when he asks where she stayed and notices her clothes.

The question “Where you been so long?” means more than asking for a location: it conveys impatience and hurt at her absence. “You’re on my mind” is a common way to say that someone is occupying your thoughts. Her clothes not fitting right may suggest that something happened while she was away, but the lyrics do not explain what.

The speaker seems to want Alberta to return, yet his questions also hint at suspicion or jealousy. Her late arrival and clothing might make him wonder whether she has been with someone else, but that remains an implication, not a certainty. The song leaves the relationship unresolved: it expresses both missing someone and discomfort about what may have happened during the separation.