"The Hunter", as stated in the press release, is loosely a concept album based on the theme of "searching, hunting. or pursuing one's own Mt. Everest." Tracks on the album include Jimmy Destri's Motown pastiche "Danceway", while "Dragonfly" has a science-fiction theme to its lyrics about a race in space. "The Beast" deals with Deborah Harry's experiences of becoming a public figure: "I am the centre of attraction, by staying off the streets". "English Boys" is Harry and Chris Stein's melancholy tribute to "those English boys who had long hair", The Beatles, recorded the year after John Lennon's assassination in New York City, describing the innocence and idealism of the 1960s, while "War Child" references military conflicts in Cambodia and the Middle East. The album concludes with a cover version of Smokey Robinson's "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", originally recorded by The Marvelettes in 1967.