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.
Rioting, the unbeatable high
Adrenalin shoots your nerves to the sky
Everyone knows this town is gonna blow
And it's all
Gonna blow right now
Now you can smash all the windows that you want
All you really need are some friends and a rock
Throwing a brick never felt so damn good
Smash more glass
Scream with a laugh
And wallow with the crowds, watch them kicking peoples' ass
But you get to the place
Where the real slave-drivers live
It's walled off by the riot squad aiming guns right at your head
So you turn right around
And play right into their hands
And set your own neighborhood
Burning to the ground instead
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast
Get your kicks in quick
They're callin' the National Guard
Now could be your only chance to torch a police car
Climb the roof, kick the siren in and jump and yelp for joy
Quickly, dive back in the crowd, slip away, now don't get caught
Let's loot the spiffy hi-fi store, grab as much as you can hold
Pray your full arms don't fall off, here comes the owner with a gun
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Shit!
The barricades spring up from nowhere
Cops in helmets line the lines
Shotguns prod into your bellies
The trigger fingers want an excuse
Now!
The raging mob has lost its nerve
There's more of us but who goes first?
No one dares to cross the line
The cops know that they've won
It's all over but not quite, the pigs have just begun to fight
They club your heads, kick your teeth
Police can riot all that they please
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha, yeah!
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Adrenalin shoots your nerves to the sky
Everyone knows this town is gonna blow
And it's all
Gonna blow right now
Now you can smash all the windows that you want
All you really need are some friends and a rock
Throwing a brick never felt so damn good
Smash more glass
Scream with a laugh
And wallow with the crowds, watch them kicking peoples' ass
But you get to the place
Where the real slave-drivers live
It's walled off by the riot squad aiming guns right at your head
So you turn right around
And play right into their hands
And set your own neighborhood
Burning to the ground instead
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast
Get your kicks in quick
They're callin' the National Guard
Now could be your only chance to torch a police car
Climb the roof, kick the siren in and jump and yelp for joy
Quickly, dive back in the crowd, slip away, now don't get caught
Let's loot the spiffy hi-fi store, grab as much as you can hold
Pray your full arms don't fall off, here comes the owner with a gun
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Yee-ah!
Shit!
The barricades spring up from nowhere
Cops in helmets line the lines
Shotguns prod into your bellies
The trigger fingers want an excuse
Now!
The raging mob has lost its nerve
There's more of us but who goes first?
No one dares to cross the line
The cops know that they've won
It's all over but not quite, the pigs have just begun to fight
They club your heads, kick your teeth
Police can riot all that they please
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha
Ah, ha-ha, yeah!
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless, tonight it's a blast
Riot, the unbeatable high
Riot, shoots your nerves to the sky
Riot, playing right into their hands
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
Tomorrow you're homeless
Tonight it's a blast
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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.
ShanghaiTheBastards wrote: I love how he sings this song. Kind of like an excited and slightly confused 10-year-old.
But doesn't Jello ALWAYS kinda sound like an excited and slightly confused 10-year-old?? :) Don't get me wrong, I'm not cutting him down in any way. I have tremendous respect for Jello. As to the meaning of this song, I think it's about the mob mentality during a riot, how it takes over and people don't think about the consequences of their actions. "Tomorrow you're homeless. Tonight it's a blast."