Home Again

Track Info

Title

Home Again
Released
14 Feb 2019
Duration
05:36

Original Release

Under the Radar Vol 3

Studio Album

About

Home Again appears on Under the Radar Vol. 3 and was written by Robbie Williams with Kelvin Andrews, Richard Scott and Scott Ralph, produced by Rich Scott. It was included as a download-only bonus track on the Super Deluxe edition of the album, following its loss in a fan “song battle” to Bye Bye during the Vloggy sessions. Williams and his collaborators described it as one of the most emotional and personal songs they had ever written together.

The track is a nostalgic reflection on fame, belonging and the longing for a simpler past. Williams explained that Home Again was inspired by the sadness he felt at no longer being able to move freely in his hometown of Stoke-on-Trent after becoming famous. “You have to mourn the loss of a previous life,” he said. “It’s not that you’ve forgotten where you came from — it’s that you can’t go back.” The lyrics imagine him boarding a train at London Euston and returning home anonymously, if only in a dream.

Musically, Home Again is a tender ballad with soft piano, acoustic guitar and understated percussion. Its slow tempo and echoing production create a sense of distance and longing, mirroring the themes of memory and loss. Williams’ vocal performance is intimate and vulnerable, capturing both gratitude and melancholy. The refrain “I just want to go home again” encapsulates the emotional core of the song — a simple wish for peace amid the noise of fame.

“I mourned my previous life for a long time. Home Again is a fictitious story about me getting on a train at Euston and going back to Stoke in a dream.”Robbie Williams

Although omitted from the standard album, fans and collaborators have often cited Home Again as one of Williams’ most moving later works. Rich Scott called it the song he was “most proud of” from their sessions, and many listeners have argued that it deserved a place on the main release. With its quiet sincerity and emotional depth, Home Again stands as a fitting coda to Under the Radar Vol. 3, closing the series on a note of reflection and grace.

Lyrics

Despite the land, the thousand miles

Your smile had reached an all-time low

And all the curtains drew on my old street again

A chance to pawn the photograph

That told the story of our class

A basking in the promises of future days

I didn't mean to let you know

I accidentally dialed the number

The words you heard were someone else

A circumstance that took me under

Time and time again I tried

But all the buttons pressed would broke

To make it through to your receiver

I can't find the words I spoke

But now the clouds are only smoke I'm through

But any time soon

I guess I'll find a way to ride a train back home again

Outside the paper stands are blowing and I'm down

Until the silence of the engine turns to steam and then

We're home again

Stumbling to folks I swerved

The entities are all reserved

And conversations limited, unpleasantly

A staring to my suitcase hold

My cup of tea's already cold

Happy on escaping these old memories

We couldn't wait to set a day

To knock on doors and run away

And someone went beyond us all

In baggy fields we knew the answer

Only problem was the question

We didn't even need to ask

So simple in our own conception

But that was also long ago

In a place I used to know so well