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.
Dog, I shouldn't have left, They wouldn't have tried this shit if I was wit ya
Maybe we would have picked another time
Or chose another way
Or maybe my prayers would have convinced him to choose another soul
Shit, its just me and my mentoni now
Man you look so peaceful now, how can I argue wit that
They say
[Chorus]
They say the good die young,
That's why I think that you should have fun (when your young)
'Cause time won't wait for no one (uh huh)
When God calls, you gotta go home (go home)
They say the good die young, (die young)
That's why I know that we gon' have fun,
In this life 'cause you only get one
When God comes for me, don't cry till I'm home
[Kon Artis]
Its true that everybody heard, there mama say every days like this
When you see, one of your friends die in the mist
In the struggle, went through circumstances
Arrested every day just to prove a point to a friend
Even then, accidents are prone to happen to any man
A woman is dumb enough to pretend
That her, God won't hold them accountable for sins
If they commit, they try to repent to ??
But I guess (that's just the way things go)
I was blessed to see 24 (24)
To wake up to that how my name is video
Motivated me to write what I wrote
And I knew my little brother sold dope
An mom and daddy want to move our road
I did it, I still got a lot to prove and show
I just which we ain't have to lose Bugz to the struggle
'cause you know
[Chorus]
[Bizzare]
I know you used to Bizzare on some silly shit
But Niggas in my cliq, is dying quick
In Detroit, niggas don't party
They pull a .44 out, snatch off bacardis
That's why I keep the pistol under the trunk
I'm 27 years old, too old to be getting jumped
And fuck rap, I miss Karnail Pitts, be -you-g-z
Tattooed on my wrist
Me and you in the jeep, listen to ?? beats
Its a shame me and Fuzz don't even speak
I got married, my wife name is D
Peace to 31 and 51-50, miss you
[Kuniva]
I came back on that tragic, my phone rung
And Bizarres voice telling me, Bugz was gone home
It was like a knife piercing my chest and I couldn't breath
I didn't wanna accept it, didn't wanna believe it
I swear with this weight dog, I cried so hard
Literally, Denaun had to carry me to the car
While I stand in this booth now its tearin' me apart
But I had to let it out 'cause it was tearin' at my heart
'Cause he died over something so petty and so small
A human life is so very precious I hope y'all
Understand how I'm feeling 'cause I love you bugs
I wanna rhyme wit you, laugh wit you, hug you bugs
But I can't and you was so close to seeing dreams
A coward came along and took you away from the team
So don't mistake this track, its just another song
This goes out to everyone who lost a loved one
'Cause you know
[Chorus]
[Proof]
They say its never too late, to have an early childhood
If I could, turn back the hands of time, God should
Forgive what I did as a kid to run blocks
Now my dreams are just dream cops and gun shots
The fun stops when your homies up in a box
My dudey bole, rest his soul, snuffed by the cops
I use to smoke shit a lot, if there's a guy by me say something
If you love her so much why didn't you gave nothing
When he took my homie, snuck was only in 11th grade
Now I hope to see your face at the heaven gates
It ain't never late in the game, this hating remains
With a grudge to see slugs straight through my frame
My heart aches with the pain, the life in his breath
We gotta have fun now, there's only minutes left
In the depth, distress youngn's is sucked in
To get task my fallen homies I got enough
[Chorus]
[Swifty]
When I was younger I knew four brothers that wasn't wise
That crash and the driver died,
My partner on the passenger side was paralyzed
And I'm surprised by the look of that ride that the other peeps survived
Nine months later another one died
Somebody shot him in the side when he was starting up his ride
3 years go by, I made a hell of a run
And that's when funky got done, a joey playing wit guns
And ?, karty was my man
And reggy, I wish that I was wit you in that van
And Bugs if it wasn't for you
You know I wouldn't be standing in this booth,
That's the truth, I miss y'all
[Chorus: x2]
Maybe we would have picked another time
Or chose another way
Or maybe my prayers would have convinced him to choose another soul
Shit, its just me and my mentoni now
Man you look so peaceful now, how can I argue wit that
They say
[Chorus]
They say the good die young,
That's why I think that you should have fun (when your young)
'Cause time won't wait for no one (uh huh)
When God calls, you gotta go home (go home)
They say the good die young, (die young)
That's why I know that we gon' have fun,
In this life 'cause you only get one
When God comes for me, don't cry till I'm home
[Kon Artis]
Its true that everybody heard, there mama say every days like this
When you see, one of your friends die in the mist
In the struggle, went through circumstances
Arrested every day just to prove a point to a friend
Even then, accidents are prone to happen to any man
A woman is dumb enough to pretend
That her, God won't hold them accountable for sins
If they commit, they try to repent to ??
But I guess (that's just the way things go)
I was blessed to see 24 (24)
To wake up to that how my name is video
Motivated me to write what I wrote
And I knew my little brother sold dope
An mom and daddy want to move our road
I did it, I still got a lot to prove and show
I just which we ain't have to lose Bugz to the struggle
'cause you know
[Chorus]
[Bizzare]
I know you used to Bizzare on some silly shit
But Niggas in my cliq, is dying quick
In Detroit, niggas don't party
They pull a .44 out, snatch off bacardis
That's why I keep the pistol under the trunk
I'm 27 years old, too old to be getting jumped
And fuck rap, I miss Karnail Pitts, be -you-g-z
Tattooed on my wrist
Me and you in the jeep, listen to ?? beats
Its a shame me and Fuzz don't even speak
I got married, my wife name is D
Peace to 31 and 51-50, miss you
[Kuniva]
I came back on that tragic, my phone rung
And Bizarres voice telling me, Bugz was gone home
It was like a knife piercing my chest and I couldn't breath
I didn't wanna accept it, didn't wanna believe it
I swear with this weight dog, I cried so hard
Literally, Denaun had to carry me to the car
While I stand in this booth now its tearin' me apart
But I had to let it out 'cause it was tearin' at my heart
'Cause he died over something so petty and so small
A human life is so very precious I hope y'all
Understand how I'm feeling 'cause I love you bugs
I wanna rhyme wit you, laugh wit you, hug you bugs
But I can't and you was so close to seeing dreams
A coward came along and took you away from the team
So don't mistake this track, its just another song
This goes out to everyone who lost a loved one
'Cause you know
[Chorus]
[Proof]
They say its never too late, to have an early childhood
If I could, turn back the hands of time, God should
Forgive what I did as a kid to run blocks
Now my dreams are just dream cops and gun shots
The fun stops when your homies up in a box
My dudey bole, rest his soul, snuffed by the cops
I use to smoke shit a lot, if there's a guy by me say something
If you love her so much why didn't you gave nothing
When he took my homie, snuck was only in 11th grade
Now I hope to see your face at the heaven gates
It ain't never late in the game, this hating remains
With a grudge to see slugs straight through my frame
My heart aches with the pain, the life in his breath
We gotta have fun now, there's only minutes left
In the depth, distress youngn's is sucked in
To get task my fallen homies I got enough
[Chorus]
[Swifty]
When I was younger I knew four brothers that wasn't wise
That crash and the driver died,
My partner on the passenger side was paralyzed
And I'm surprised by the look of that ride that the other peeps survived
Nine months later another one died
Somebody shot him in the side when he was starting up his ride
3 years go by, I made a hell of a run
And that's when funky got done, a joey playing wit guns
And ?, karty was my man
And reggy, I wish that I was wit you in that van
And Bugs if it wasn't for you
You know I wouldn't be standing in this booth,
That's the truth, I miss y'all
[Chorus: x2]
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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
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The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Kuniva's verse reminds me so much of a friend of mine who died in a car crash a few months ago and how I was feeling.
"I swear at his wake dawg, I cried so hard.. literally"
This was one of the many songs I listened to, it's a fuckin great song.