This song describes an outcast ("they didn't know him"), well-meaning ("He never meant to do anything wrong") character probably being wrongly ("You know that I am on your side") accused by the society for an act they consider "wrong." This has been going on for a while ("It's gonna get worse if he waits too long"), and in all likelihood it's going to end badly for him ("Oh Billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life"). It is probably about a crime for which he's the primary suspect, and he flees jurisdiction the night the cops came to take him into custody. I haven't seen the video.
This song describes an outcast ("they didn't know him"), well-meaning ("He never meant to do anything wrong") character probably being wrongly ("You know that I am on your side") accused by the society for an act they consider "wrong." This has been going on for a while ("It's gonna get worse if he waits too long"), and in all likelihood it's going to end badly for him ("Oh Billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life"). It is probably about a crime for which he's the primary suspect, and he flees jurisdiction the night the cops came to take him into custody. I haven't seen the video.