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.
You say you found Jesus Christ;
He's the only one.
You say you've found Buddha,
Sittin' in the sun.
You say you found Mohammed,
Facin' to the East.
You say you found Krishna,
Dancin' in the streets.
Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew,
And it's your mother, (your mother, don't forget your mother, lad.)
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do it for you.
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do it for you.
Well you may believe in devils, and you may believe in lords,
But if you don't go out and serve yourself, lad, ain't no room service here.
It's still the same old story,
A bloody Holy War,
A fight for love and glory.
Ain't gonna study war no more.
A fight for God and country.
We're gonna set you free,
We'll put you back in the Stone Age,
If you won't be like me, get it?
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
Well you may believe in devils, and you may believe in lords,
But Christ, you're gonna have to serve yourself, and that's all there is to it.
So get right back here; it's in the bloody fridge. God, when I was a kid,
Didn't have stuff like this; TV-fuckin' dinners and all that crap.
You fuckin' kids are all the fuckin' same! Want a fuckin' car now
Lucky to have a pair of shoes!
You tell me you found Jesus Christ,
Well that's great, and he's the only one.
You say you just found Buddha,
Sittin' on his ass, in the sun.
You say you found Mohammed,
Kneeling on a bloody carpet, facin' the East.
You say you found Krishna,
With a bald head, dancin' in the street.
(Well, Christ, now you're being heard.)
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
(That's right, lad, you better get that straight into your fuckin' head.)
You got to serve yourself. (You know that; who else is gonna do it for you?
It ain't me I tell you that.)
Well, you may believe in Jesus, and you may believe in Marx,
And you may believe in Marks and Spencer's, and you may believe in bloody
Woolworths,
But there's something missing in this whole bloody stew.
And it's your mother; your poor, bloody, mother. (She worked for you in the
Back bedroom, full of piss, and shit, and fuckin' midwives. God, you can't
Forget that awful moment, you know. You should have been in the bloody
War, lad, and you would know all about it. Well, I'll tell you something...)
It's still the same old story.
A Holy, bloody, War, you know, with the Pope and all that stuff.
A fight for love and glory.
Ain't gonna study no more war.
A fight for God and country, and the Queen, and all that.
We're gonna set you free;
Bomb you back into the fuckin' Stone Age
If you won't be like me, you know, get down on your knees and pray.
Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew,
And it's your goddamn mother you dirty little git, now.
Get in there and wash yer ears!
He's the only one.
You say you've found Buddha,
Sittin' in the sun.
You say you found Mohammed,
Facin' to the East.
You say you found Krishna,
Dancin' in the streets.
Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew,
And it's your mother, (your mother, don't forget your mother, lad.)
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do it for you.
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do it for you.
Well you may believe in devils, and you may believe in lords,
But if you don't go out and serve yourself, lad, ain't no room service here.
It's still the same old story,
A bloody Holy War,
A fight for love and glory.
Ain't gonna study war no more.
A fight for God and country.
We're gonna set you free,
We'll put you back in the Stone Age,
If you won't be like me, get it?
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
Well you may believe in devils, and you may believe in lords,
But Christ, you're gonna have to serve yourself, and that's all there is to it.
So get right back here; it's in the bloody fridge. God, when I was a kid,
Didn't have stuff like this; TV-fuckin' dinners and all that crap.
You fuckin' kids are all the fuckin' same! Want a fuckin' car now
Lucky to have a pair of shoes!
You tell me you found Jesus Christ,
Well that's great, and he's the only one.
You say you just found Buddha,
Sittin' on his ass, in the sun.
You say you found Mohammed,
Kneeling on a bloody carpet, facin' the East.
You say you found Krishna,
With a bald head, dancin' in the street.
(Well, Christ, now you're being heard.)
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do for you.
(That's right, lad, you better get that straight into your fuckin' head.)
You got to serve yourself. (You know that; who else is gonna do it for you?
It ain't me I tell you that.)
Well, you may believe in Jesus, and you may believe in Marx,
And you may believe in Marks and Spencer's, and you may believe in bloody
Woolworths,
But there's something missing in this whole bloody stew.
And it's your mother; your poor, bloody, mother. (She worked for you in the
Back bedroom, full of piss, and shit, and fuckin' midwives. God, you can't
Forget that awful moment, you know. You should have been in the bloody
War, lad, and you would know all about it. Well, I'll tell you something...)
It's still the same old story.
A Holy, bloody, War, you know, with the Pope and all that stuff.
A fight for love and glory.
Ain't gonna study no more war.
A fight for God and country, and the Queen, and all that.
We're gonna set you free;
Bomb you back into the fuckin' Stone Age
If you won't be like me, you know, get down on your knees and pray.
Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew,
And it's your goddamn mother you dirty little git, now.
Get in there and wash yer ears!
Lyrics submitted by Urine's_whore
Serve Yourself Lyrics as written by John Lennon
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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