What kind of stuff are you trying to play? If you are trying to play late-classical, early romantic+, then it really is a shitload of reading things over and over ie. just read and let time do all the work.
But if you're playing pop or early classical you should learn at least what a scale is, what a chord is, the I, IV, and VI chords are. Then once you know that very small basic information, you will be able to really "see" what a song is -- not as a bunch of notes, but as simple chord progressions with some stuff in between.
I'd suggest here for a quick rundown on theory:
www.musictheory.net
Jam it back in, in the dark.