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.
Sometimes I want to leave you
Sometimes I want to go
Right back where I came from
Back where I belong
But it never lasts for too long
Always goes away
Well I still don't look for reasons
That's much too hard these days
Why worry about the rain?
Why worry about the thunder?
Honey, Century City's got everything covered
Well, your mama gave you lovin'
Mama held you near
Baby, mama can't do nothin'
Honey, mama just ain't here
And you can pretend all you want to
But that won't work no more
No, you can't run back to daddy
Yeah, you tried that once before
Why worry about your father?
Why worry about your mother?
Honey, Century City's got everything covered
We're gonna live in Century City
Go ahead and give in, Century City
Like modern men, modern girls
We're gonna live in the modern world
Woah
We're gonna live in Century City
Go ahead and give in, Century City
Like modern men, modern girls
We're gonna live in the modern world
Sometimes I get discouraged
Sometimes I feel so down
Sometimes I get so worried
But I don't know what about
But it works out in the long run
Always goes away
And I've come now to accept it
As a reoccurring phase
Don't worry about the rain
Don't worry about the thunder
Honey, Century City's got everything covered
We're gonna live in Century City
We're gonna live in Century City
We're gonna live in Century City
We're gonna live in Century City
Sometimes I want to go
Right back where I came from
Back where I belong
But it never lasts for too long
Always goes away
Well I still don't look for reasons
That's much too hard these days
Why worry about the rain?
Why worry about the thunder?
Honey, Century City's got everything covered
Well, your mama gave you lovin'
Mama held you near
Baby, mama can't do nothin'
Honey, mama just ain't here
And you can pretend all you want to
But that won't work no more
No, you can't run back to daddy
Yeah, you tried that once before
Why worry about your father?
Why worry about your mother?
Honey, Century City's got everything covered
We're gonna live in Century City
Go ahead and give in, Century City
Like modern men, modern girls
We're gonna live in the modern world
Woah
We're gonna live in Century City
Go ahead and give in, Century City
Like modern men, modern girls
We're gonna live in the modern world
Sometimes I get discouraged
Sometimes I feel so down
Sometimes I get so worried
But I don't know what about
But it works out in the long run
Always goes away
And I've come now to accept it
As a reoccurring phase
Don't worry about the rain
Don't worry about the thunder
Honey, Century City's got everything covered
We're gonna live in Century City
We're gonna live in Century City
We're gonna live in Century City
We're gonna live in Century City
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@DJacques75 No.. reocurring is definitely a word