i always thought it was about a guy he knew from the neighbourhood, who maybe had been abusing/raping a girl downstairs in a basement (during a party maybe) and howie was one of the few (or maybe even the only one) who knew about it.
well howie has actually commented on that song during gigs, saying it's about "a guy that i grew up with, who was basically just an asshole. and when i ran into him years later, it turned out that he was still an asshole." he actually even described him as a friend, saying "sometimes you have friends who are assholes, because it's better than having no friends"
i always thought it was about a guy he knew from the neighbourhood, who maybe had been abusing/raping a girl downstairs in a basement (during a party maybe) and howie was one of the few (or maybe even the only one) who knew about it.
well howie has actually commented on that song during gigs, saying it's about "a guy that i grew up with, who was basically just an asshole. and when i ran into him years later, it turned out that he was still an asshole." he actually even described him as a friend, saying "sometimes you have friends who are assholes, because it's better than having no friends"