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.
Virginia is almost sleeping
The night is getting older
There is static on the TV
And she's lying on the sofa
The cats crawl over her
Jenny is in the garage
She's got the car in neutral
She rolls it out so quietly
It's Saturday as usual
It always is
And me, I'm in my bedroom drawing in my notebook
Because my hand thinks I'm an artist
But my heart knows I'm a poet
It's just words, they mean so little to me
And I can't seem to do something more
When everyone will fall back
Daddy's in the backyard
His hands are getting dirty
And mom is in the kitchen
And her cake says that I'm thirteen
Another year
My brother went to college to become a doctor
And if he studies hard enough
He'll end up just like father
Who hates his life
And me, I'm in the bathroom
Crying out my eyelids because it's hard to be a man
When you are scared like a little kid
The world has become a little too mean
And I can't see the point of patient love
When everyone just wants to get fucked
The night is getting older
There is static on the TV
And she's lying on the sofa
The cats crawl over her
Jenny is in the garage
She's got the car in neutral
She rolls it out so quietly
It's Saturday as usual
It always is
And me, I'm in my bedroom drawing in my notebook
Because my hand thinks I'm an artist
But my heart knows I'm a poet
It's just words, they mean so little to me
And I can't seem to do something more
When everyone will fall back
Daddy's in the backyard
His hands are getting dirty
And mom is in the kitchen
And her cake says that I'm thirteen
Another year
My brother went to college to become a doctor
And if he studies hard enough
He'll end up just like father
Who hates his life
And me, I'm in the bathroom
Crying out my eyelids because it's hard to be a man
When you are scared like a little kid
The world has become a little too mean
And I can't see the point of patient love
When everyone just wants to get fucked
Lyrics submitted by PLANES, edited by IvanhoeHei
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