It's Not

Aimee Mann

I keep going round and round on the same old circuit.
A wire travels underground to a vacant lot.
Where something I can't see interrupts the current.
And shrinks the picture down to a tiny dot.
And from behind the screen, it can look so perfect.
But it's not.

So here I'm sitting in my car at the same old stop light.
I keep waiting for a change, but I don't know what.
So red turns into green, turning into yellow.
But I'm just frozen here on the same old spot.
And all I have to do is press the pedal.
But I'm not. No I'm not.

Well people are tricky,
You can't afford to show,
Anything risky, anything they don't know.
The moment you try, well kiss it goodbye.

So baby kiss me like a drug, like a respirator.
And let me fall into the dream of the astronaut.
Where I get lost in space that goes on forever.
And you make all the rest just an after thought.
And I believe it's you who could make it better.
But it's not. No it's not


Lyrics submitted by peopleterrifyme, edited by ShootTheM14, antmoose

It's Not Lyrics as written by Aimee Mann

Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing

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It's Not song meanings
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22 Comments

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  • +2
    General CommentIt's about depression - how your life can seem so perfect, so wonderful, but it isn't. Not to you, not when you're struggling against that disease and your whole life is a "tiny dot". You don't know where the depression came from, and people think that it should be so easy to get out of it ("and all I have to do is to press the pedal") but it isn't. It's not. You get into a relationship, thinking love will make it better... but it doesn't.
    dragonflyeyeson June 17, 2006   Link
  • +2
    General CommentCorrection to the last verse:

    So, baby, kiss me like a drug, like a respirator
    And let me fall into the dream of the astronaut
    Where I get lost in space that goes on forever
    And you make all the rest just an afterthought
    And I believe it's you who could make it better
    Though it's not
    No, it's not
    No, it's not
    Eamonon December 07, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Commentthis song is so incredibly perfect..."so baby kiss me like a drug, like a respirator..." is my favorite line from this song, and it is also one of the main themes of her album, addictive relationships (whether it be sex addiction or simply giving the other person magical qualitites like only they can make you better). Aimee Mann is an amazing woman.
    HannahOrange7on March 28, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Commentit's perfect. reminds me of realities of life.

    fav lines,

    so baby kiss me like a drug, like a respirator
    and let me fall into the dream of the astronaut
    for I'll get lost in space that goes on forever
    Paragon October 18, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General CommentI heard this song on some random ep of dawson's creek and loved it stright away. bought the cd so many years ago (i think i was like 16 at the time). it still stands as one of my favs. i sung it to my baby neice the other day, not the lyrics just the melody and she totally stopped fussing and calmed down. it was weird. aimee has an awesome effect on those of us lucky enough to let her in.
    indierock01on November 21, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Commentthis song is just so perfect. it reminds me of "save me" and why i love aimee mann.
    mrpeachumon August 29, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Commentheheh, honestly you guys, I take great pleasure in seeing very few posts on here. its like we have aimee mann at songmeanigns all to ourselves. maybe thats selfish but i like it. god i love the album lost in space. its kind of scary but also sooo beautiful. I absolutely love the line where she describes just refusing to put her foot on the pedal for no apparent reason. thats just awsome, its so weird and erratic and fucked up. i love it.
    rainydayboyon March 11, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General CommentAh, I adore this song, as well as all of Lost in Space--it's the only thing I've been listening to lately. "So baby kiss me like a drug, like a respirator" is my favorite line too...just so beautiful. Aimee Mann always seems to make me...tingly.
    TakeTheNoiseInMyHeadon April 22, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General CommentMy fave song off the Lost In Space album(with Invisible Ink).I think she's trying to break away or get rid of her rubbish life but she's not able to do that.She's scared of changing,of trying to do anything new because people will not accept that.Well,at least this is what the song means to me.
    Joekubrickon July 05, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Commentthis tune, along with others on this album, has helped me get over some of my darker days in autumn 2002. listen to the chorus again, no one writes about alienation better than aimee. i'm sure we all have wanted to take a turn at a certain stoplight of our lives, yet when the light changes for the 22th time, we're still stuck in the middle. procrastination is addictive too, so fuck procrastination.
    fieroavianon May 20, 2004   Link

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