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.
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
I'm packed and I'm holding
I'm smiling, she's living, she's golden
She lives for me, says she lives for me
Ovation, her own motivation
She comes round and she goes down on me
And I make you smile, like a drug for you
Do ever what you wanna do, coming over you
Keep on smiling, what we go through
One stop to the rhythm that divides you
And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse
Chop another line like a coda with a curse
Come on like a freak show takes the stage
We give them the games we play, she said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there, someplace back there
Smiling in the pictures you would take
Doing crystal meth, will lift you up until you break
It won't stop, I won't come down
I keep stock with a tick-tock rhythm, a bump for the drop
And then I bumped up, I took the hit that I was given
Then I bumped again, then I bumped again
I said
How do I get back there to the place where I fell asleep inside you
How do I get myself back to the place where you said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
I believe in the sand beneath my toes
The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling
I believe in the faith that grows
And that four right chords can make me cry
When I'm with you I feel like I could die
And that would be alright, alright
And when the plane came in, she said she was crashing
The velvet it rips in the city, we tripped on the urge to feel alive
Now I'm struggling to survive
Those days you were wearing that velvet dress
You're the priestess, I must confess
Those little red panties they pass the test
Slides up around the belly, face down on the mattress
One
And you hold me, and we are broken
Still it's all that I wanna do, just a little now
Feel myself, heading off the ground
I'm scared, I'm not coming down
No, no
And I won't run for my life
She's got her jaws now locked down in a smile
But nothing is alright, alright
And I want something else to get me through this life
Baby, I want something else
Not listening when you say
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there
Someplace back there, in the place we used to start
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
I want something else
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
I'm packed and I'm holding
I'm smiling, she's living, she's golden
She lives for me, says she lives for me
Ovation, her own motivation
She comes round and she goes down on me
And I make you smile, like a drug for you
Do ever what you wanna do, coming over you
Keep on smiling, what we go through
One stop to the rhythm that divides you
And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse
Chop another line like a coda with a curse
Come on like a freak show takes the stage
We give them the games we play, she said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there, someplace back there
Smiling in the pictures you would take
Doing crystal meth, will lift you up until you break
It won't stop, I won't come down
I keep stock with a tick-tock rhythm, a bump for the drop
And then I bumped up, I took the hit that I was given
Then I bumped again, then I bumped again
I said
How do I get back there to the place where I fell asleep inside you
How do I get myself back to the place where you said
I want something else to get me through this
Semi-charmed kinda life, baby, baby
I want something else, I'm not listening when you say good-bye
I believe in the sand beneath my toes
The beach gives a feeling, an earthy feeling
I believe in the faith that grows
And that four right chords can make me cry
When I'm with you I feel like I could die
And that would be alright, alright
And when the plane came in, she said she was crashing
The velvet it rips in the city, we tripped on the urge to feel alive
Now I'm struggling to survive
Those days you were wearing that velvet dress
You're the priestess, I must confess
Those little red panties they pass the test
Slides up around the belly, face down on the mattress
One
And you hold me, and we are broken
Still it's all that I wanna do, just a little now
Feel myself, heading off the ground
I'm scared, I'm not coming down
No, no
And I won't run for my life
She's got her jaws now locked down in a smile
But nothing is alright, alright
And I want something else to get me through this life
Baby, I want something else
Not listening when you say
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
The sky was gold, it was rose
I was taking sips of it through my nose
And I wish I could get back there
Someplace back there, in the place we used to start
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
Doo doo doo, doo doo-doo doo
I want something else
Lyrics submitted by flyswatter, edited by White2lip, PrinceHarming
Semi-Charmed Life Lyrics as written by Stephan Douglas Jenkins
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Does anyone know what the last word is? After "in the place we used to"? I've been listening to this song for a long time, and I can't figure it out.
"In the place we used to start"<br /> <br /> Now that you mention it, I'm surprised the original poster left it out of these lyrics.