I think the speaker in this song is talking about having to leave certain people behind who have failed to understand or accept him. He has expressed his rage about something and feels bad about that ("all the sorries begin"). He has made a choice and is starting to come to terms with it ("the drinking has thinned") but he still "wrestle[s] within". The people he has left behind accuse him of being selfish ("to you, I don't look so good / Like I did what I wanted. Like I did what I would") but he points out that he has lost a great deal by making this choice. Saying that he doesn't have his dog and doesn't make a sound suggests that he is isolated and silenced. Though he is in the "middle of town," he essentially "live(s) on an island" because he is cut off from the "mainland" of society.
I think the speaker in this song is talking about having to leave certain people behind who have failed to understand or accept him. He has expressed his rage about something and feels bad about that ("all the sorries begin"). He has made a choice and is starting to come to terms with it ("the drinking has thinned") but he still "wrestle[s] within". The people he has left behind accuse him of being selfish ("to you, I don't look so good / Like I did what I wanted. Like I did what I would") but he points out that he has lost a great deal by making this choice. Saying that he doesn't have his dog and doesn't make a sound suggests that he is isolated and silenced. Though he is in the "middle of town," he essentially "live(s) on an island" because he is cut off from the "mainland" of society.