My interpretation is, thinking of the time frame the song was written, is that he was/is gay. But he truly loved the girl deeply for never judging him for his decisions.
I have a dear friend who when through the motions during that time period were the expectations of any/every young man, meet a girl, get a job, marry and have a family were the "norm." My friend did just that and later after his children were grown and eventually divorced his wife decided to be who he is. However he had a lot of guilt for possibly cheating her out of a life she could/would have had had he had the strength to be who he was/is today.
It seems to me that in the songs lyrics this guy started down the same path as my friend but finally mustered up the strength to be honest with the girl. As the song ends I think that in his later years, never being able to shed himself of the guilt and the fact that he truly loved the girl deeply but he wanted to make amends and apologize.
Life back then there wasn't much tolerance or exception of anything out of the "norm."
My interpretation is, thinking of the time frame the song was written, is that he was/is gay. But he truly loved the girl deeply for never judging him for his decisions. I have a dear friend who when through the motions during that time period were the expectations of any/every young man, meet a girl, get a job, marry and have a family were the "norm." My friend did just that and later after his children were grown and eventually divorced his wife decided to be who he is. However he had a lot of guilt for possibly cheating her out of a life she could/would have had had he had the strength to be who he was/is today. It seems to me that in the songs lyrics this guy started down the same path as my friend but finally mustered up the strength to be honest with the girl. As the song ends I think that in his later years, never being able to shed himself of the guilt and the fact that he truly loved the girl deeply but he wanted to make amends and apologize. Life back then there wasn't much tolerance or exception of anything out of the "norm."