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.
Whatever poisons in this bottle
will leave me broken sore and stiff
When it's the genie at the bottom who I'm sucking at,
he owes me one last wish
So here's a present to let you know I still exist
I hope the next boy that you kiss has something terribly contagious on his lips
But I got a plan (I got a plan)
To drink for forty days and forty nights
A sip for every second-hand tick
And every time you fed the line,
“you mean so much to me”
I'm without you
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
And even if her plane crashes tonight
she'll find some way to disappoint me,
by not burning in the wreckage,
or drowning at the bottom of the sea
Jess, I still taste you, and thus reserve my right to hate you
And all this empty space that you create
does nothing for my flawless sense of style
It's 8:45(it's 8:45), the weather is getting better by the hour(rains all the time)
I hope it rains there all the time
And if you ever said you miss me then don't say you never lied
I'm without you
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say,
who would do anything you say
Never gonna get it right, you're never gonna get it(15x)
O.k no more songs about you. After this one I am done. You're gone.[repeat until end]
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
will leave me broken sore and stiff
When it's the genie at the bottom who I'm sucking at,
he owes me one last wish
So here's a present to let you know I still exist
I hope the next boy that you kiss has something terribly contagious on his lips
But I got a plan (I got a plan)
To drink for forty days and forty nights
A sip for every second-hand tick
And every time you fed the line,
“you mean so much to me”
I'm without you
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
And even if her plane crashes tonight
she'll find some way to disappoint me,
by not burning in the wreckage,
or drowning at the bottom of the sea
Jess, I still taste you, and thus reserve my right to hate you
And all this empty space that you create
does nothing for my flawless sense of style
It's 8:45(it's 8:45), the weather is getting better by the hour(rains all the time)
I hope it rains there all the time
And if you ever said you miss me then don't say you never lied
I'm without you
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say,
who would do anything you say
Never gonna get it right, you're never gonna get it(15x)
O.k no more songs about you. After this one I am done. You're gone.[repeat until end]
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
Tell all the English boys you meet
about the American boy back in the states
The American boy you used to date
who would do anything you say
Lyrics submitted by BrandNew1208
Jude Law and a Semester Abroad Lyrics as written by Garrett Tierney Brian Lane
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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True fans of Brand New......I have come to some sad news.....Brand New is on that fucking road rules cd.....WITH THIS SONG!.......I was just done with listening to this cd, and i was flipping through the channels and i noticed afi and get up kids on the screen, so i flipped back and jude law and a semester abroad was playing on this commercial. We all should hope brand new doesnt become a sellout n go on MTV.