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.
Bone bone bone bone bone bone bone bone
So tell me what you're gonna do
When there ain't nowhere 2 run
When judgment comes 4 you
(when judgment comes 4 u)
So tell me what your gonna do
When there ain't no place 2 hide
When judgment comes 4 you
'cause its gonna come 4 you
[Chorus]
See you at the crossroads crossroads crossroads
[3 times after that]
[Flava:] so why you gotta go and pray your gonna make it some day
You got a job so why do you want a raise
Why you want to act tough why can't you
Play this whole fame
Thing just comes one of these days
When it comes you'll be one of a kind
But before this keep all this in your mind
'cause I will hold you till the end of the line want all this you'll be mad to decline
[Reepa:] so what you gonna do when everydays the same
Try and do this
Shush just 4 a glimpse of fame
Didn't mean 2 do it
Just put yourself 2 shame
Didn't want 2 kill her just tryin 2 play the game
Wen you reach the crossroads where you gonna go
Go with your coinsience
Just let your feelings flow
Lifes up lifes down
But things can turn around
Innocent or guilty you will soon be found
[KRAZY]
So what ya gonna do when people hate you
Chat you
Beat you
They don't like you
Can't run away coz they will find you
Prayin for answers wot ya gonna do
Make decisions where ya gonna go
Take the crossroads go with the flow
You gotta come easy and then you gotta go
Your livin in a hateful world
Keep low
[Breakdown]
Mmmm and we pray and we pray and we pray and we pray
Everyday everyday everyday everyday
And we pray and we pray and we pray and we pray
Still we lay still we lay
[KENZIE]
There's things in life you have to make
Which path you take is like deja-vou
Stand by your side
Stand next to you
Be there in the middle when your passin through
In the middle meet you at the crossroads
Between love and hate
Between good and evil
We can see right through you
When you tell the truth
All single lie
We brake sumthin
Your gonna make a man cry
Don't want to talk about the day your gonna die
Sooner or later that day will come
When you have to make a right or wrong decision
Its hard to take and make
Curlin by they just separate you
Want to do that sht
Prime resists at the end of the day
Its up to you
Ill be there in the middle when your passin through.
[chorus x2]
(so you won't be lonely)
[Rockyb:] see you at the crossroads see you
See you at the crossroads see you
[x2]
[Spike-e:] who's THAT GET OFF THE TRAIN
AVIREX JACKET WITH THE POOR WITH THE RAIN
WHY TAKE THAT MANS CHAIN
NO MORE TROUBLE MADE
[Melo-d:] living on the streets everyday so lame
People walking past looking at you in shame
But they don't really care who's the one 2 blame
You're gonna take the wrong turn your gonna lose the game
You no its not you're fault that life turned this way
But ppl don't care don't hear what you say
The way it is now is the ways it gonna stay
There's no choice left but to hope and pray
[BREAKDOWN]
[Chorus x2]
(so you won't b lonley)
So tell me what you're gonna do
When there ain't nowhere 2 run
When judgment comes 4 you
(when judgment comes 4 u)
So tell me what your gonna do
When there ain't no place 2 hide
When judgment comes 4 you
'cause its gonna come 4 you
[Chorus]
See you at the crossroads crossroads crossroads
[3 times after that]
[Flava:] so why you gotta go and pray your gonna make it some day
You got a job so why do you want a raise
Why you want to act tough why can't you
Play this whole fame
Thing just comes one of these days
When it comes you'll be one of a kind
But before this keep all this in your mind
'cause I will hold you till the end of the line want all this you'll be mad to decline
[Reepa:] so what you gonna do when everydays the same
Try and do this
Shush just 4 a glimpse of fame
Didn't mean 2 do it
Just put yourself 2 shame
Didn't want 2 kill her just tryin 2 play the game
Wen you reach the crossroads where you gonna go
Go with your coinsience
Just let your feelings flow
Lifes up lifes down
But things can turn around
Innocent or guilty you will soon be found
[KRAZY]
So what ya gonna do when people hate you
Chat you
Beat you
They don't like you
Can't run away coz they will find you
Prayin for answers wot ya gonna do
Make decisions where ya gonna go
Take the crossroads go with the flow
You gotta come easy and then you gotta go
Your livin in a hateful world
Keep low
[Breakdown]
Mmmm and we pray and we pray and we pray and we pray
Everyday everyday everyday everyday
And we pray and we pray and we pray and we pray
Still we lay still we lay
[KENZIE]
There's things in life you have to make
Which path you take is like deja-vou
Stand by your side
Stand next to you
Be there in the middle when your passin through
In the middle meet you at the crossroads
Between love and hate
Between good and evil
We can see right through you
When you tell the truth
All single lie
We brake sumthin
Your gonna make a man cry
Don't want to talk about the day your gonna die
Sooner or later that day will come
When you have to make a right or wrong decision
Its hard to take and make
Curlin by they just separate you
Want to do that sht
Prime resists at the end of the day
Its up to you
Ill be there in the middle when your passin through.
[chorus x2]
(so you won't be lonely)
[Rockyb:] see you at the crossroads see you
See you at the crossroads see you
[x2]
[Spike-e:] who's THAT GET OFF THE TRAIN
AVIREX JACKET WITH THE POOR WITH THE RAIN
WHY TAKE THAT MANS CHAIN
NO MORE TROUBLE MADE
[Melo-d:] living on the streets everyday so lame
People walking past looking at you in shame
But they don't really care who's the one 2 blame
You're gonna take the wrong turn your gonna lose the game
You no its not you're fault that life turned this way
But ppl don't care don't hear what you say
The way it is now is the ways it gonna stay
There's no choice left but to hope and pray
[BREAKDOWN]
[Chorus x2]
(so you won't b lonley)
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
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Little Feat
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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”
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karaoke version