The musician gets half-way to Memphis before he realises his guitar is missing. It takes a month to track it down. When he gets the guitar back, he is scolded by a stranger for being neglectful and self-centered with the phrase "rock-n-rollers; you're all the same". In the original version of the song, the stranger is referred to as a "spade" as a satirical reference to a common racial epithet of the period, in later versions the word "dude" is substituted as the satirical intention was missed by many.
The song reflects a weariness with the rock and roll life-style, including the strain of constant touring and the low public opinion of rock 'n' roll singers. This theme appears in the chorus, which is repeated with minor variations: "you look like a star, but you're still on the dole," "you look like a star, but you're really out on parole."
The song may have been based on an actual event involving guitarist Mick Ralphs. The song was used in the films Breaking the Waves and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore.
The loss of Ralphs's guitar is also mentioned in the lyrics of the single's B-side, "Ballad of Mott the Hoople (26th March 1972, Zürich)". Name-checking most of the band's then members, the B-side's lyrics stated "Buffin lost his child-like dreams" / And "Mick lost his guitar / And Verden grew a line or two / And Overend's just a rock 'n' roll star".[7]