Every time you go away, you take a piece of meat with you

The story:

When I was little, I spent summers riding around with my Dad in his van. One day this song came on the radio and I asked him "Dad, why do they take a piece of meat when they go away?" Dad laughed and said "That's right. Every time you go away, you take a piece of beef with you." I still didn't get it. It wasn't until middle school that I realized Paul Young wasn't saying "meat", he was saying "me".