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.
Lay back baby and we'll do this right
There's blankets in back we can use
I'll start the car, but we'll stay in park
The cold can kill us before fumes
Now's the right time for a good song
Get something to say what I can't
Do you feel bad, like I feel bad?
We'll pour us a road, we'll both drink and drive
Kiss me with your cherry lipstick
Never wash you off my face
Hit me I can take your cheap shots
Leave you with the love we made
Come alive on the driver's side
So close I taste your breath
Your lips go dry, but they're sweet inside
Wine must go right to your head
It'd be easy if you get mad
But three fingers point back to you
We could stay here
Stay out all night
No one will know us and the moonlight
Kiss me with your cherry lipstick
Never wash you off my face
Hit me, I can take your cheap shots
Leave you with the love we made
I set my watch by a street-side clock
A needle in echo groove
You pierce my heart like a willing arm
Your ticking makes my blood move
There's no way out, this fade out
Be happy to get what you do
Make him notice with both fists
'Cause quitting alone will never get you dry
Never get you dry
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Give me everything you've got now
I don't feel a single thing
Drag me out into the cold rain
Let it hover over me
Kiss me with your cherry lipstick
Never wash you off my face
Hit me, I can take your cheap shots
Leave you with the love we made
Hit me, I can take your cheap shot
Leave you with the love we made
Hit me, I can take your cheap shot
Leave you with the love we made
There's blankets in back we can use
I'll start the car, but we'll stay in park
The cold can kill us before fumes
Now's the right time for a good song
Get something to say what I can't
Do you feel bad, like I feel bad?
We'll pour us a road, we'll both drink and drive
Kiss me with your cherry lipstick
Never wash you off my face
Hit me I can take your cheap shots
Leave you with the love we made
Come alive on the driver's side
So close I taste your breath
Your lips go dry, but they're sweet inside
Wine must go right to your head
It'd be easy if you get mad
But three fingers point back to you
We could stay here
Stay out all night
No one will know us and the moonlight
Kiss me with your cherry lipstick
Never wash you off my face
Hit me, I can take your cheap shots
Leave you with the love we made
I set my watch by a street-side clock
A needle in echo groove
You pierce my heart like a willing arm
Your ticking makes my blood move
There's no way out, this fade out
Be happy to get what you do
Make him notice with both fists
'Cause quitting alone will never get you dry
Never get you dry
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
Give me everything you've got now
I don't feel a single thing
Drag me out into the cold rain
Let it hover over me
Kiss me with your cherry lipstick
Never wash you off my face
Hit me, I can take your cheap shots
Leave you with the love we made
Hit me, I can take your cheap shot
Leave you with the love we made
Hit me, I can take your cheap shot
Leave you with the love we made
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I think this song is about love and suicide. No one has mentioned it yet, but it seems too dark to be simply a love song. It mentions sitting in a parked car "the cold will kill us before the fumes." People always commit suicide by sitting in their car in the garage and enhaling Carbon Monoxide. Plus, when people breath too much carbon monoxide they get "cherry red lips."
Also the song talks about drinking and driving, and the last verse: Give Me Everything You Got Now I don’t feel a single thing Drag me out into the cold rain Let it hover over me
You can't pawn that off as lyrics to a pure love song. He can't feel anything, cold rain. I think it has to do something with being young and living a destructive life full of young painful love, and Prayinmantis, you need to stop being so pompous, open your eyes, there is more there.
Pretty sure all those people found hanging from their stairs or laying in a bath of their own blood would argue (if they were still alive) that people don't ALWAYS kill themselves by sitting in their cars and inhaling Carbon Monoxide. <br /> <br /> I do however see your point about the whole CM thing though. Kind of fits. Never looked at it that way before.