I'm not so sure any of these comments are anywhere near the mark, though "partofthiswasmine" comes close to my interpretation.
The singer is deeply in love with a girl, but he does not know "What it means to be a boy and what it means to be a man" and so does not know how to love the girl as a man loves a woman. Thus even though "I was with a girl" he tells us that "it felt like I was with a boy." This causes the relationship to fail, leaving him to "gnaw on the knowledge that I have been burnt."
The singer feels that this world has failed to prepare him for this situation, as "Everyone I ever knew was so kind and coy" which isn't actually helpful. He sees this earth as a "world of wreckage" where he is left to "look above" and plea "Help me, Lord, help me understand."
The experience makes him feel that he is "learning things that I should've already learnt", that is, he could've made the relationship work if he knew how to love beforehand. This first love haunts him for the rest of his life. He continues to think about it long past the point where he "can't even remember if we were lovers, or if I just wanted to." And whenever he meets someone new, he remarks to himself, "I held her in my arms but it wasn't you."
I'm not so sure any of these comments are anywhere near the mark, though "partofthiswasmine" comes close to my interpretation.
The singer is deeply in love with a girl, but he does not know "What it means to be a boy and what it means to be a man" and so does not know how to love the girl as a man loves a woman. Thus even though "I was with a girl" he tells us that "it felt like I was with a boy." This causes the relationship to fail, leaving him to "gnaw on the knowledge that I have been burnt."
The singer feels that this world has failed to prepare him for this situation, as "Everyone I ever knew was so kind and coy" which isn't actually helpful. He sees this earth as a "world of wreckage" where he is left to "look above" and plea "Help me, Lord, help me understand."
The experience makes him feel that he is "learning things that I should've already learnt", that is, he could've made the relationship work if he knew how to love beforehand. This first love haunts him for the rest of his life. He continues to think about it long past the point where he "can't even remember if we were lovers, or if I just wanted to." And whenever he meets someone new, he remarks to himself, "I held her in my arms but it wasn't you."