Maria song meaning

There are different theories about the meaning of the song, since its lyrics are far from obvious. Some people believe that Maria is about a girl that was in a relationship with the narrator, but then left him, and now he's wondering where she went. Others believe the song is about punk and Maria is just a random name, and by asking "Maria, where did you go?" the narrator is wondering about what happened to true punk, where it went.

It's possible that Maria stands for anything good that disappeared into nowhere - it may be a girlfriend, may be punk, may be a better government or rebellious times. The narrator is wondering where all the good stuff went and why.