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 came to me like a dream.
The kind that always leaves
Just as the best part starts.
It ends so abruptly
And leaves you stunned and naked
In your bedroom all alone.
It's kinda funny how something so soothing
Gets interrupted by the ring of a telephone.
And you broke me like the cigarette
That I busted on the day I quit.
But now that I've been drinkin'
I'm out of smokes and I wish that I had it.
Woke up to my daily headache
And the realization that you are gone.
Oh my sweet darling happiness
You've been away from me all along.
One thing that I never said
I'm truly happy in my heart and in my head.
A lonely liver suspended in liquid.
You came to me like a dream
The kind that always leaves.
Just as the best part starts
It ends so abruptly.
And leaves you stunned and naked
In your bedroom all alone.
Kind of funny how something so soothing
Gets interrupted by the ring of a telephone.
One thing that I never said
I'm truly happy in my heart and in my head
A lonely liver suspended in liquid.
It's one thing that I never did was swallow.
Missing a case
Lacking a lid
My heart bleeds for what you never did.
Never did.
It's one thing that I never said
I'm truly happy in my heart and in my head
A lonely liver suspended in liquid
It's one thing that I never did was swallow.
Missing a case
Lacking a lid
My heart bleeds for what you never did.
My heart bleeds for what you never did until now
The kind that always leaves
Just as the best part starts.
It ends so abruptly
And leaves you stunned and naked
In your bedroom all alone.
It's kinda funny how something so soothing
Gets interrupted by the ring of a telephone.
And you broke me like the cigarette
That I busted on the day I quit.
But now that I've been drinkin'
I'm out of smokes and I wish that I had it.
Woke up to my daily headache
And the realization that you are gone.
Oh my sweet darling happiness
You've been away from me all along.
One thing that I never said
I'm truly happy in my heart and in my head.
A lonely liver suspended in liquid.
You came to me like a dream
The kind that always leaves.
Just as the best part starts
It ends so abruptly.
And leaves you stunned and naked
In your bedroom all alone.
Kind of funny how something so soothing
Gets interrupted by the ring of a telephone.
One thing that I never said
I'm truly happy in my heart and in my head
A lonely liver suspended in liquid.
It's one thing that I never did was swallow.
Missing a case
Lacking a lid
My heart bleeds for what you never did.
Never did.
It's one thing that I never said
I'm truly happy in my heart and in my head
A lonely liver suspended in liquid
It's one thing that I never did was swallow.
Missing a case
Lacking a lid
My heart bleeds for what you never did.
My heart bleeds for what you never did until now
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
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
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?
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
What kind of a fan are you if you don't even know the names of the guys in the band? You probably just heard "Stupid Kid," bought your Hot Topic gear, and now thinks you're some Alkaline Trio elitist that has to hate the band because people recognize what good music is.