IMO, it has to be a suicide. Billy is not about to let himself get caught. Period. It's a selfish act by a selfish man.
Yes, I do believe he loves Julie. Yes, I do believe that the news of the pregnancy awakens a desire in him to change. But, he chooses crime as a way to get the easy money - and as as the robbery goes wrong, I think he knows he's cornered and feels that he has no alternative.
"Or steal it, or take it -- or die." It's right in the text. Those lyrics are in no way accidental - and neither is the death. |