The Offspring’s “Gone Away” Is Not About What You Think It’s About
All this time, I’ve been living in a lie
The Offspring has been one of my favourite bands since the end of 1998. When I listened to Pretty Fly For a White Guy on the radio for the first time, it blew my mind.
Then, a couple of days later, I found a tape cassette in my father’s car. On side A, there was Ignition, The Offspring’s second studio album. On side B, Ixnay on the Hombre, their fourth.
I remember playing that cassette every single day in the summer of 1999: Ixnay on the Hombre quickly became my favourite album, and now, 23 years later, I still know all the songs by heart.
One of them, in particular, struck me because it was the only somewhat slow song in the entire album: I’m talking about Gone Away.
There were (and still are) quite a few songs I like more than Gone Away, but I’ve always regarded it as a special one, especially after I learned that it was dedicated to Dexter Holland’s girlfriend, who passed away in a car accident.
