My Interpretation on this is that the narrator in the song used to be with a girl that he loved so much and but during that time he was one of the cool guys at school that lived freely(partying and alcohol, etc.) and he wasn't really able to get over his former glory. on the other hand, his girlfriend/ex matured, and started thinking about their future and got a job/career. and since he became much like an alcoholic bum of a sort, he got jealous with the girl having to work all the time having no time for him so didn't felt like "he mattered to her". somewhere in there, they broke up. so one night he went to her place all drunk so he's got this "too drunk to drive" excuse to stay. Trying to somehow patch things between them by telling her that she was "the best he ever had" and that he's really sorry for having "blew up" their relationship years ago, or else they'd still be together.
On the second verse he was trying to tell her that all he really want is to be with her and that he has somehow improved that if she'd take him back, he'd no longer drink and sleep around and if she'll accept that he's still in the process of picking himself up and not to expect a great make over, then she might not be let down.
The chorus is his way of telling her that they can still do what they used to find exiting or an adrenaline rush and that by doing so, even if the past is gone, they might still be able to pick-up some of the pieces of their past and replace their past failures with a renewed love to take it's place.
The last part he says, "she took my heart", means he never got over her and probably never will.
The line "there's only one thing I couldn't start", means that he couldn't actually start the conversation with her because he was too drunk to think straight and all of these words were just running inside his head and these were all the things he wanted to tell her.
I am disappointed
Every morning that I wake up
I am disappointed by the feeling
Of waking up next to you
You call me up, let me know that
That my sick guilt is so unwelcome
It's so unwelcome yeah
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness in your voice
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
My health is failing me
So I flip on the television
And watch sad movies
And look for sad sick people like me
Call me up, and let me know that
That my sick guilt is so unwelcome
I'm so unwelcome
I'm so unwelcome
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness in your voice
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
We could go
(We could go)
We could go through the front door
(Through the front door)
We could go
(We could go)
We go in through the front door
(Through the front door)
We could go
(We could go)
We go in through the front door
(Through the front door)
We could go
(We could go)
I come in through the front door
Through the front door
And the pills they will not
Will not
Will not
Will not let me go
And I will not
Will not
Will not let you drink yourself alone
Call me up and let me know that
That my sick guilt is so unwelcome
You're so unwelcome
You're so unwelcome
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness in your voice
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
I hear sadness inside you
Every morning that I wake up
I am disappointed by the feeling
Of waking up next to you
You call me up, let me know that
That my sick guilt is so unwelcome
It's so unwelcome yeah
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness in your voice
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
My health is failing me
So I flip on the television
And watch sad movies
And look for sad sick people like me
Call me up, and let me know that
That my sick guilt is so unwelcome
I'm so unwelcome
I'm so unwelcome
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness in your voice
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
We could go
(We could go)
We could go through the front door
(Through the front door)
We could go
(We could go)
We go in through the front door
(Through the front door)
We could go
(We could go)
We go in through the front door
(Through the front door)
We could go
(We could go)
I come in through the front door
Through the front door
And the pills they will not
Will not
Will not
Will not let me go
And I will not
Will not
Will not let you drink yourself alone
Call me up and let me know that
That my sick guilt is so unwelcome
You're so unwelcome
You're so unwelcome
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness in your voice
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
I hear noises in the darkness
I hear sadness inside you
I hear sadness inside you
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More Featured Meanings
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Hey Jealousy
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms
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Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
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.
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I think this song could be about that stuff, however, I find that it may just be about her and a close friend. But, they are kind of stuck in that stage of wanting to be more than that. When she just spends the night as "friends" it can be disappointing and the whole "I hear noises in the darkness" and "I hear sadness in your voice" is symbolic of that frustration and obviously refers to hearing someone crying during the night/in their sleep. I think it is possible it could be about that. And the whole pull in, push away, i.e. confusion of where you want a relationship to be or just plain fear. This is seen with the whole "my sick guilt is so unwelcome, you're so unwelcome". Someone is caring too much, then the other person has to feel "bad" about it cause they don't want to care as much." But, then that person "drinks themselves alone". Yet, the other person, is still going to come over. Because they love them..
I don't know, maybe I'm just applying it to me. But. It could be something along those lines. That's at least what I take from it.
I can relate to that analysis.