In this song, Will Ghould creates a picture of a couple in conflict.

The chorus consists of one party expressing frustration with their partner/the relationship (William, you’re terrible and William, well, what went wrong?) and the partner responding that this is simply the person they are (Don’t say I didn’t warn you/ You know I’ve been a hazard all along)

Throughout the song, there is imagery of overindulgence and fallout (So I’m creepin' back to the scene of the crime/ So hungover from hangin' out with you) as well as codependence (Every night I fall at your feet/ Loaded, alone, with a hard-on for home) suggesting the relationship may be toward its end.

The title of this song is most likely in reference to the song ‘William, It Was Really Nothing’ by The Smiths, which is a song about a love triangle between two men and a woman. Many believe Morrissey wrote the song addressing Billy Mackenzie of the Associates; in response, Mackenzie wrote the song ‘Stephen It Was Really Something’.

Morrissey has also said of the Smiths song that it is commentary on the futility of marriage, saying:

“…I thought it was about time there was a male voice speaking directly to another male saying that marriage was a waste of time…that, in fact, it was ‘absolutely nothing.”

With this in mind, Ghould creates an idea that the narrator is feigning indifference over the conflict/ending of their relationship; that relationships are overrated and unnecessary, anyway.

Ghould also includes in this song several tongue-in-cheek references to vampirism: I don’t see the sun except to sleep; Am I villain?; Every night I lose a life; A heart that refuses to beat. A noted subject matter in SALEM’s discography is a ‘doomed’ relationship between a human and a vampire. In this way, the chorus ask-and-response takes on another layer: a human asking why their relationship has to end/why the vampire must be so terrible and the vampire answering that they warned their partner about their vampirism.

As this song seems to indicate an ending relationship, the inference that one member of the relationship is undead and experiencing their own apathy, anhedonia, or inner conflict further contributes to the flippant ‘it was really nothing’ attitude.