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 lick the gun, when I'm done
'Cause I know, that revenge is sweet, so sweet
This is a gang, ladies thang
Baby bang, tell me what you need, oh
Any motherfucker wanna disrespect
Playing with fire finna get you wet
How'd it feel down there on your knees, ah
I got these girls like a soldier
Trip and it's going down, down, down
I'm ready to roll
Girl, I'm with you with it get you to get me
So come on let's go
Bitch, I'm with you, if you with it you with me
You know I'm down, I'm down for life
Load and reload it, let's go
Gangster for life
'Til the day that I die yeah
I promise I'm standing by
'Cause you know that I'm down, you know I'm down
Gangster for life
We driving by with them headlights off
We know where you stay, yeah
Know what you did, we don't play that shit
Nigga, we don't play, no
Everybody quiet when you did your dirt
Actin' like a bitch finna get you hurt
Breaking lives down to the knees, oh
I got these girls like a soldier
Trip and it's going down, down, down
I'm ready to roll
Girl, I'm with you with it get you to get me
So come on let's go
Bitch, I'm with you, if you with it you with me
You know I'm down, I'm down for life
Load and reload it, let's go
Gangster for life
'Til the day that I die yeah
I promise I'm standing by
'Cause you know that I'm down, you know I'm down
Gangster for life
Come one girls, come on we ain't done yet
Gotta a lot to handle, we ain't took over the world
We're an army, better yet a navy
Better yet, crazy, guns in the air
Guns in the air, guns in the air
Can't hear this again when you come around here
We got our guns, got our guns
We got our guns, got our guns
We got our guns in the motherfucking air, oh
I'm down for life
Gangster for life
I'm down for life
Gangster for life
You know I'm down, I'm down for life
Load and reload it, let's go
Gangster for life
'Til the day that I die yeah
I promise I'm standing by
'Cause you know that I'm down, you know I'm down
Gangster for life
I lick the gun when I'm done
'Cause I know that revenge is sweet
'Cause I know, that revenge is sweet, so sweet
This is a gang, ladies thang
Baby bang, tell me what you need, oh
Any motherfucker wanna disrespect
Playing with fire finna get you wet
How'd it feel down there on your knees, ah
I got these girls like a soldier
Trip and it's going down, down, down
I'm ready to roll
Girl, I'm with you with it get you to get me
So come on let's go
Bitch, I'm with you, if you with it you with me
You know I'm down, I'm down for life
Load and reload it, let's go
Gangster for life
'Til the day that I die yeah
I promise I'm standing by
'Cause you know that I'm down, you know I'm down
Gangster for life
We driving by with them headlights off
We know where you stay, yeah
Know what you did, we don't play that shit
Nigga, we don't play, no
Everybody quiet when you did your dirt
Actin' like a bitch finna get you hurt
Breaking lives down to the knees, oh
I got these girls like a soldier
Trip and it's going down, down, down
I'm ready to roll
Girl, I'm with you with it get you to get me
So come on let's go
Bitch, I'm with you, if you with it you with me
You know I'm down, I'm down for life
Load and reload it, let's go
Gangster for life
'Til the day that I die yeah
I promise I'm standing by
'Cause you know that I'm down, you know I'm down
Gangster for life
Come one girls, come on we ain't done yet
Gotta a lot to handle, we ain't took over the world
We're an army, better yet a navy
Better yet, crazy, guns in the air
Guns in the air, guns in the air
Can't hear this again when you come around here
We got our guns, got our guns
We got our guns, got our guns
We got our guns in the motherfucking air, oh
I'm down for life
Gangster for life
I'm down for life
Gangster for life
You know I'm down, I'm down for life
Load and reload it, let's go
Gangster for life
'Til the day that I die yeah
I promise I'm standing by
'Cause you know that I'm down, you know I'm down
Gangster for life
I lick the gun when I'm done
'Cause I know that revenge is sweet
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
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.
The title of this song stands for "Gangsta For Life."
This track, which sees Rihanna sprouting a series of bad-bitch boasts then purring at the end "Revenge is sweet," was produced by London "dubstep" production duo Chase & Status. Saul Milton, a.k.a. Chase, told BBC's Newsbeat: "This album for her is just about what she likes and what she's into and what she wants