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.
In one single moment your whole life can turn 'round
I stand there for a minute staring straight into the ground
Looking to the left slightly then looking back down
World feels like its caved in, proper sorry frown
Please let me show you how we could only just be for us
I can change and I can grow or we can adjust
The wicked thing about us is we always have trust
We can even have an open relationship, if we must
I look at her, she stares almost straight back at me
But her eyes glaze over like she's looking straight through me
Then her eyes must have closed for what seems an eternity
When they opened up she's lookin' down at her feet
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now, its over
So then I moved my hand off and down by my side, shaking
My life is crashing before my eyes
Turn the palm of my hand up to face the skies
Touched the bottom of her chin and let out a sigh
'Cause I can't imagine my life without you and me
There's things I can't imagine doing, things I can't imagine seeing
It weren't supposed to be easy, surely
Please please, I'm begging, please
She brings her hands up towards where my hands rested
She wraps her fingers 'round mine with the softness she's blessed with
She peels away my fingers looks at me and then gestures
By pushing my hand away to my chest from hers
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now, its over
And I'm just standing there
I can't say a word
'Cause everything has just gone
I've got nothing
Absolutely nothing
Trying to pull her close out of bare desperation
Put my arms around her to try to change what she's saying
Put my head level with hers so she might engage in
Look into her eyes to make her listen again
I'm not gonna fuckin' just fuckin' leave it all now
'Cause you said it'd be forever and that was your vow
And your gonna let our things simply crash and fall down
Your well out of order now, this is well out of town
She pulls away, my arms that are tightly clamped around her waist
Gently pushes me back as she looks at me straight
Turns around so she's now got her back to my face
Takes one step forward, looks back and then walks away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now, its over
I know in the past I've found it hard to say
Telling you things but not telling straight
But the more I pull on your hand and say
The more you pull away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now
I stand there for a minute staring straight into the ground
Looking to the left slightly then looking back down
World feels like its caved in, proper sorry frown
Please let me show you how we could only just be for us
I can change and I can grow or we can adjust
The wicked thing about us is we always have trust
We can even have an open relationship, if we must
I look at her, she stares almost straight back at me
But her eyes glaze over like she's looking straight through me
Then her eyes must have closed for what seems an eternity
When they opened up she's lookin' down at her feet
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now, its over
So then I moved my hand off and down by my side, shaking
My life is crashing before my eyes
Turn the palm of my hand up to face the skies
Touched the bottom of her chin and let out a sigh
'Cause I can't imagine my life without you and me
There's things I can't imagine doing, things I can't imagine seeing
It weren't supposed to be easy, surely
Please please, I'm begging, please
She brings her hands up towards where my hands rested
She wraps her fingers 'round mine with the softness she's blessed with
She peels away my fingers looks at me and then gestures
By pushing my hand away to my chest from hers
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now, its over
And I'm just standing there
I can't say a word
'Cause everything has just gone
I've got nothing
Absolutely nothing
Trying to pull her close out of bare desperation
Put my arms around her to try to change what she's saying
Put my head level with hers so she might engage in
Look into her eyes to make her listen again
I'm not gonna fuckin' just fuckin' leave it all now
'Cause you said it'd be forever and that was your vow
And your gonna let our things simply crash and fall down
Your well out of order now, this is well out of town
She pulls away, my arms that are tightly clamped around her waist
Gently pushes me back as she looks at me straight
Turns around so she's now got her back to my face
Takes one step forward, looks back and then walks away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now, its over
I know in the past I've found it hard to say
Telling you things but not telling straight
But the more I pull on your hand and say
The more you pull away
Dry your eyes mate
I know it's hard to take but her mind has been made up
There's plenty more fish in the sea
Dry your eyes mate
I know you want to make her see how much this pain hurts
But you've got to walk away now
Lyrics submitted by machineofgod
Dry Your Eyes Lyrics as written by Michael Geoffrey Skinner
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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the first time i heard this song i laughed, it was bad enough when he wasnt taking his lyrics that seriously but when he does put his heart into what he writes it just doesnt fit with his shitty style of music (anyone else noticed that he cant really sing? he just talks and he's not even very good at that- he manages to talk out of tune)