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.
Boredom saturation
It's a never ending clue
Isn't just to fill the time
When there's nothing else to do
She drove on out of New York
She had enough insane
And drivin' just though Texas two days
She ended up in L.A.
Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Shuffle it all
Pack up your life again
A pile of records spread out
The covers still look good
Picture here a Peter Tosh's
startin' down and a smokin' wood
My dog dreaming is running
I see him twitch a paw
My woman playing Dr. Mario
On the TV all night long
Just another cigarette
Staring at the moon, yeah
Then I'm headin' off to bed
Sleepin' without you, yeah
Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Pack up your bags again
It's a long and winding road
Sure enjoy the view, yeah
If you want to see it
Just slow down
You're so welcome to come along
Lookin' for a tune to play
I'm gonna see it again
When the day is over
Try to write you 'bout the rain
Feel the motors winding on
There ain't no news
If you see those old friends out there
Tell them that I send my love
Wake up, time to leave again
Try to find my shoes
Put the luggage in the van
Roll up your Doctor Dolittle
Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Shuffle it all
Pack up your things again
Shuffle it all (Keep movin' along)
Shuffle it all (Keep movin' along)
Shuffle it all (Keep movin' along)
Pack up your life again
Keep on shufflin'
It's a never ending clue
Isn't just to fill the time
When there's nothing else to do
She drove on out of New York
She had enough insane
And drivin' just though Texas two days
She ended up in L.A.
Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Shuffle it all
Pack up your life again
A pile of records spread out
The covers still look good
Picture here a Peter Tosh's
startin' down and a smokin' wood
My dog dreaming is running
I see him twitch a paw
My woman playing Dr. Mario
On the TV all night long
Just another cigarette
Staring at the moon, yeah
Then I'm headin' off to bed
Sleepin' without you, yeah
Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Pack up your bags again
It's a long and winding road
Sure enjoy the view, yeah
If you want to see it
Just slow down
You're so welcome to come along
Lookin' for a tune to play
I'm gonna see it again
When the day is over
Try to write you 'bout the rain
Feel the motors winding on
There ain't no news
If you see those old friends out there
Tell them that I send my love
Wake up, time to leave again
Try to find my shoes
Put the luggage in the van
Roll up your Doctor Dolittle
Shuffle it all
Shuffle it all, yeah
Shuffle it all
Pack up your things again
Shuffle it all (Keep movin' along)
Shuffle it all (Keep movin' along)
Shuffle it all (Keep movin' along)
Pack up your life again
Keep on shufflin'
Lyrics submitted by hellfirecan
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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It's about changing your life and moving on. Probably written in reflection after he left G n R.. The first verse is about a woman who is bored with her life in New York and just up and drives out of town and ends up in LA. The second verse is about a guy who is also bored with is life. Just sitting around listening to old records smoking up. His dog is sleeping and his woman is playing Nintendo...Dr. Mario...weird game to refer too but anyway...goes to sleep, alone again. The third verse again is just about the journy to starting over....although the reference to Dr. Doolittle is a mystery to me. The chorus "Shuffle it all" is quite literal, about shuffling up your life. Love the song. Izzy rules!
Roll up your Dr. Doolittle" = Roll up a joint maybe?
@hellfirecan <br /> <br /> "Dr. Mario...weird game to refer too but anyway"<br /> <br /> Probably a reference to "Mario Brothers" but it's likely that he couldn't get the rights from Nintendo to use the name.<br /> <br /> Just like the Kinks with their song "Lola". They had to change the line "Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like Coca- Cola" to "Where you drink champagne and it tastes just like cherry cola."