I get such a feeling of grief and loss in this song! I think it's brought me to tears every time I heard it. In my interpretation, the female he's singing about is his mother, or mother-figure like a grandmother or aunt, because he says, "her image holy." "It is best now that the time moves slow, You know someday she'll know," he is grieving the departure of this holy-mother figure, and believes she will regret leaving him behind. "today is nearly over, It's nearly over now, it's nearly gone," is symbolic of someone facing death - the ending of daylight signifying the end of this person's life, or the death of the mother-figure he holds very dear. "And tomorrow doesn't matter now, 'Cause nothing matters now," is a devastatingly sad line, because he sees no hope left in his future. Some event has taken place that represents the end for him. "Except the dawn," implies he is barely making it through the night, and seeing the sunrise is his last vestige of peace. Hauntingly beautiful music accompanies the lyrics!