I don't know if the speciffic details of his life nessicarilly have to relate to the song. I always took it to be about a guy who moved away from Alice Childress, and maybe she's more naive or sensitive than him so he tries to comfort her a lot, but the reality is he's very lonely and is getting mugged and maybe wants to give up. And maybe the fact that he has to reassure her that the world is still good is whats keeping him going or questioning everything.
I don't know if the speciffic details of his life nessicarilly have to relate to the song. I always took it to be about a guy who moved away from Alice Childress, and maybe she's more naive or sensitive than him so he tries to comfort her a lot, but the reality is he's very lonely and is getting mugged and maybe wants to give up. And maybe the fact that he has to reassure her that the world is still good is whats keeping him going or questioning everything.