Personally, it sounds to me like a tragic love song. Like they have tried to make the relationship work but it won't and everyone around them is getting angrier and angrier. Hince "i see a distant light but girl this cant be right". He sees that there may be some way to make it work but if they are having such a hard time, how can this relationship be right? And "i've come to grips with life and seen that this is going too far" as in they are trying to live a fairy tale love and it's not realistic. They can't be happy anymore. "got nothing against you...when the time is right" obviously it is a reassurance to her that he still loves her and she did nothing wrong but he has to get away and maybe someday later in life they can try again and make it work. "please understand i have to leave and carry on my own life" it's very self explanitory. Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems kind of obvious to me. Then again maybe I got that message because I have gone through what it sounds like with a guy once. This is just one of those songs that has been written to be taken any way you want to take it so that it will relate to all listeners.