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.
Rock
Rock
Bass
Ooh, white, white
Ooh, white, white
Ooh, white, white
(Ooh white lines) vision dreams of passion
(Blowin' through my mind) and all the while I think of you
(High price) a very strange reaction
(For us to unwind) the more I see, the more I do
(Something like a phenomenon) baby
(Tellin' your body to come along, but white lines blow away)
Ticket to ride, white line highway
Tell all your friends, that they can go my way
Pay your toll, sell your soul
Pound for pound costs more than gold
The longer you stay, the more you pay
My white line go a long way
Either up your nose or through your vein
With nothin' to gain except killin' your brain
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
(Blow)
(Ahh) higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
And don't ever come down, freebase (rock)
Rang-dang-diggedy-dang-di-dang
Rang-dang-diggedy-dang-di-dang
Rang-dang-diggedy-dang-di-dang
Diggedy-dang-di-dang, diggedy-dang-di-dang
(Pipeline) pure as the driven snow
(Connected to my mind) and now I'm havin' fun, baby
(High price) it's getting kinda low
('Cause it makes you feel so nice) I need some one-on-one, baby
(Don't let it blow your mind away) baby
(And go into your little hideaway 'cause white lines blow away)
A million magic crystals, painted pure and white
A multi-million dollars almost overnight
Twice as sweet as sugar, twice as bitter as salt
And if you get hooked, baby, it's nobody else's fault, so don't do it
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
(Blow)
(Ahh) higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
And don't ever come down, freebase (rock)
(Don't you get too high) don't you get too high, baby
(Turns you on) you really turn me on and on
('Cause you gotta come down) my temperature is risin'
(When the thrill is gone) no, I don't want you to go
A street kid gets arrested, gonna do some time
He got out three years from now just to commit more crime
A businessman is caught with twenty four kilos
He's out on bail and out of jail
And that's the way it goes, rock
(Kane, sugar, kane)
Athletes rejected, governors corrected
Gangsters, thugs and smugglers are thoroughly respected
The money gets divided
The women get excited
Now I'm broke and it's no joke
It's hard as hell to fight it, don't buy it
Freeze (ha-ha, ha, ha), rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock (rock)
(Blow)
(Ahh) get higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, girl
(Ahh) get higher, baby
C'mon, rock
(White Lines) vision dreams of passion
(Blowin' through my mind) and all the while I think of you
(High price) a very strange reaction
(For us to unwind) the more I see, the more I do
(Something like a phenomenon) baby
(Tellin' your body to come along, but white lines blow away)
Little Jack Horner sitting on the corner
With no shoes and clothes
This ain't funny, but he took his money
And sniffed it up his nose
Hey man, you want to cop some blow?
Sure, what you got, dust, flakes or rocks?
I got China White, Mother of Pearl, Ivory Flake, what you need?
Well yeah, well let me check it out man
Just let me get a freeze (don't)
Go ahead man (do it), stuff I got should kill ya
(Yeah man th-that's that's raw, whoa)
Freeze (ha-ha, ha, ha), rock, freeze, rock
Freeze (ha-ha, ha, ha), rock, freeze, rock (uh)
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
Rock
Bass
Ooh, white, white
Ooh, white, white
Ooh, white, white
(Ooh white lines) vision dreams of passion
(Blowin' through my mind) and all the while I think of you
(High price) a very strange reaction
(For us to unwind) the more I see, the more I do
(Something like a phenomenon) baby
(Tellin' your body to come along, but white lines blow away)
Ticket to ride, white line highway
Tell all your friends, that they can go my way
Pay your toll, sell your soul
Pound for pound costs more than gold
The longer you stay, the more you pay
My white line go a long way
Either up your nose or through your vein
With nothin' to gain except killin' your brain
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
(Blow)
(Ahh) higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
And don't ever come down, freebase (rock)
Rang-dang-diggedy-dang-di-dang
Rang-dang-diggedy-dang-di-dang
Rang-dang-diggedy-dang-di-dang
Diggedy-dang-di-dang, diggedy-dang-di-dang
(Pipeline) pure as the driven snow
(Connected to my mind) and now I'm havin' fun, baby
(High price) it's getting kinda low
('Cause it makes you feel so nice) I need some one-on-one, baby
(Don't let it blow your mind away) baby
(And go into your little hideaway 'cause white lines blow away)
A million magic crystals, painted pure and white
A multi-million dollars almost overnight
Twice as sweet as sugar, twice as bitter as salt
And if you get hooked, baby, it's nobody else's fault, so don't do it
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
(Blow)
(Ahh) higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, baby
And don't ever come down, freebase (rock)
(Don't you get too high) don't you get too high, baby
(Turns you on) you really turn me on and on
('Cause you gotta come down) my temperature is risin'
(When the thrill is gone) no, I don't want you to go
A street kid gets arrested, gonna do some time
He got out three years from now just to commit more crime
A businessman is caught with twenty four kilos
He's out on bail and out of jail
And that's the way it goes, rock
(Kane, sugar, kane)
Athletes rejected, governors corrected
Gangsters, thugs and smugglers are thoroughly respected
The money gets divided
The women get excited
Now I'm broke and it's no joke
It's hard as hell to fight it, don't buy it
Freeze (ha-ha, ha, ha), rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock (rock)
(Blow)
(Ahh) get higher, baby
(Ahh) get higher, girl
(Ahh) get higher, baby
C'mon, rock
(White Lines) vision dreams of passion
(Blowin' through my mind) and all the while I think of you
(High price) a very strange reaction
(For us to unwind) the more I see, the more I do
(Something like a phenomenon) baby
(Tellin' your body to come along, but white lines blow away)
Little Jack Horner sitting on the corner
With no shoes and clothes
This ain't funny, but he took his money
And sniffed it up his nose
Hey man, you want to cop some blow?
Sure, what you got, dust, flakes or rocks?
I got China White, Mother of Pearl, Ivory Flake, what you need?
Well yeah, well let me check it out man
Just let me get a freeze (don't)
Go ahead man (do it), stuff I got should kill ya
(Yeah man th-that's that's raw, whoa)
Freeze (ha-ha, ha, ha), rock, freeze, rock
Freeze (ha-ha, ha, ha), rock, freeze, rock (uh)
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
Freeze, rock, freeze, rock
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are you fucking serious? "up your nose or through your veins with nothin' to gain except killin' your brain" does that sound like white paint on your arms you dumb fuck?