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.
God knows how I love you
Like a user needs a drug
And I'll never be free of ya
You are poison in my blood
I tried to swim that river
And get to higher ground
I been three times under
The next one'll see me drown
But I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I want to go down
God knows why you don't want me
No one would do the things I do
But to my grave it's gonna haunt me
How I got down on my knees for you
You are my obsession
And the reason that I live
You alreday got my soul
There's nothin left to give
But I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I want to go down
The devil is deep water baby
And I'm in way over my head
But I'd be drawn and quartered
If I could keep you in my bed
I can't break this spell
I know the trouble that I'm in
But If I got out of the mouth of hell
I'd walk right back again
But I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I want to go down
Like a user needs a drug
And I'll never be free of ya
You are poison in my blood
I tried to swim that river
And get to higher ground
I been three times under
The next one'll see me drown
But I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I want to go down
God knows why you don't want me
No one would do the things I do
But to my grave it's gonna haunt me
How I got down on my knees for you
You are my obsession
And the reason that I live
You alreday got my soul
There's nothin left to give
But I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I want to go down
The devil is deep water baby
And I'm in way over my head
But I'd be drawn and quartered
If I could keep you in my bed
I can't break this spell
I know the trouble that I'm in
But If I got out of the mouth of hell
I'd walk right back again
But I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I don't want to talk about it now
I want to go down
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Love in a Vacuum
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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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.
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"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.
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Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve.
The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future.
Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere"
The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
I just love this song. The production is gritty, down and dirty and just gorgeous, and Emmylou's voice in its mournful mode is perfection. I very much doubt that this is what the song is about, but every time I hear it my fiendish brain makes me think of oral sex... "I got down on my knees for you", "I wanna go down", "No one would do the things I do"... or maybe it IS????