Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: psych-rock
Song Meaning of “A Quick One, While He’s Away – Live At Hull Version” by The Who
“A Quick One, While He’s Away – Live At Hull Version” by The Who is a song about a woman who is faced with a man who is away and so she decides to take advantage of his absence by engaging in a clandestine affair. The song tells the story of the woman’s guilt and her feelings of betrayal as she tells her love of this misdeed she committed. Even though her lover is gone, she cannot enjoy it because of the guilt she feels for his absence.
The lyrics suggest that the woman is trying to justify her actions to herself by saying she didn’t “mean no harm” and she just “needed someone close” to her while he was away. Her feelings of guilt are further evidenced by her mention of being “cryin’ all the time” as she goes about her day.
Ultimately, the woman resigned to her fate and realizes that she is powerless to control her own emotions and desires, so she decides to take advantage of the opportunity before her. Even as she enjoys a passionate tryst with her secret lover, she cannot fight the feeling that she has betrayed her absent lover and so she keeps “cryin’ all the time” for fear of hurting him.
Though the woman experiences hesitation and guilt throughout the song, she ultimately knows that she has done wrong and acknowledges her feelings of guilt and betrayal.