Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
I don't listen at all to the government
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go, oh yeah
I don't listen at all to the government
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go
They're getting in the way of
(The smoke they're blowin, all this strain they're
Showin)
They're getting in the way of
(The smoke they're blowin, only our way)
I don't listen at all to the government
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go
Getting in the way of only our way
(The smoke they're blowin, all this strain they're
Showin)
They're getting in the way of
(The smoke they're blowin)
This time the government has gotta go
No doubt, they've sold out
But right now we can end the game they're playing
I don't listen at all to the government
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go
No doubt, they've sold out
But right now we can end the game they're playing
They won't make it better
Now or never
Overcome
They won't make it better
Now or never
Overcome
They won't make it better
Now or never
Overcome, I
Diving, diving, diving
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go, oh yeah
I don't listen at all to the government
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go
They're getting in the way of
(The smoke they're blowin, all this strain they're
Showin)
They're getting in the way of
(The smoke they're blowin, only our way)
I don't listen at all to the government
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go
Getting in the way of only our way
(The smoke they're blowin, all this strain they're
Showin)
They're getting in the way of
(The smoke they're blowin)
This time the government has gotta go
No doubt, they've sold out
But right now we can end the game they're playing
I don't listen at all to the government
I just say 'no, why do you hate?'
I don't listen at all to the government
The government has gotta go
No doubt, they've sold out
But right now we can end the game they're playing
They won't make it better
Now or never
Overcome
They won't make it better
Now or never
Overcome
They won't make it better
Now or never
Overcome, I
Diving, diving, diving
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
On the edge, I dive, in the sunrise
Gonna be alright at the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
At the waterline
Lyrics submitted by godscoward
Swamp Lyrics as written by Lucius Nicoli Borich Flynn Eliot G Gower
Lyrics © CACOPHONY LIMITED
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
The Spy
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Fast Car
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Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
This is for me one of the best tracks of this album among others. I think the the posts are correct and the message is clear, don't listen to the governments retoric. This song was written during a period when the Bush and Howard governments were trying to justify their position on Iraq by blatantly encouraging anti-Muslim sentiment 'No, why do you hate'.
The second part of the song which has the fiddle of violin playing over the rhythm (which I love) is less clear. My opinion and I may be wrong, is that they are singing about surfing. The cog boys are keen surfers and so am I. Diving in to the water as the sun rises, is a feeling that some people live for and also provides an escape from ones current troubles. The Howard government policies pissed me off and I, among other things surfed to release built up tension and anger. Most writers, write about things in their own lives and I believe Cog have incorporated the feeling they get from surfing into Swamp.