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.
One sound, one single sound
One kiss, one single kiss
A face outside the window pane
However did it come to this?
A man who ran, a child who cried
A girl who heard, a voice that lied
The sun that burned a fiery red
The vision of an empty bed
The use of force, he was so tough
She'll soon submit, she's had enough
The march of fate, the broken will
Someone is lying very still
He has laughed and he has cried
He has fought and he has died
He's just the same as all the rest
He's not the worst, he's not the best
And still this ceaseless murmuring
The babbling that I brook
The seas of faces, eyes upraised
The empty screen, the vacant look
A man in black on a snow white horse,
A pointless life has run its course,
The red rimmed eyes, the tears still run
As he fades into the setting sun
You're going on that plane to take you where you belong.
But no, I have
You have got to listen to me.
Do you have any idea what you have to look forward to if you stay here?
Nine chances out of ten we both end up in a concentration camp and that
You're only saying these things to make me go.
I'm saying it 'cause it's true. Inside us, we both know we belong in different
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.
But what about us?
But what about us?
But what about us?
One kiss, one single kiss
A face outside the window pane
However did it come to this?
A man who ran, a child who cried
A girl who heard, a voice that lied
The sun that burned a fiery red
The vision of an empty bed
The use of force, he was so tough
She'll soon submit, she's had enough
The march of fate, the broken will
Someone is lying very still
He has laughed and he has cried
He has fought and he has died
He's just the same as all the rest
He's not the worst, he's not the best
And still this ceaseless murmuring
The babbling that I brook
The seas of faces, eyes upraised
The empty screen, the vacant look
A man in black on a snow white horse,
A pointless life has run its course,
The red rimmed eyes, the tears still run
As he fades into the setting sun
You're going on that plane to take you where you belong.
But no, I have
You have got to listen to me.
Do you have any idea what you have to look forward to if you stay here?
Nine chances out of ten we both end up in a concentration camp and that
You're only saying these things to make me go.
I'm saying it 'cause it's true. Inside us, we both know we belong in different
Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon, and for the rest of your life.
But what about us?
But what about us?
But what about us?
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by eksfaktr
Yet Another Movie Lyrics as written by Patrick Raymond Leonard Dave Gilmour
Lyrics © IMAGEM U.S. LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
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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.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I have always gotten a blood-chilling picture every time I hear this song. The verse: "He has laughed and he has cried he has fought and he has died he's just the same as all the rest, he's not the worst, he's not the best." makes me think that its criticizing humanity and how the individual is considered nothing to the realm of the world. It relates to many of their lyrics from many of their albums: "Shall we set out across this see of faces? In search of more and more applause?" (What Shall We Do Now?, The Wall movie) "Don't worry, nobody lives forever." (A New Machine pt. I, AMLOR)
I think it is a meaning of saying that "forever" is a meaningless term and thinking your name will ever be remembered when your gone. In other words, you die, your gone and you don't matter or change the world anymore if you ever did when you were alive. As Pink said in the song "he's just the same as all the rest."