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.
Like Jimmy Carter like, electric underwear
Like any idea that never had a chance of going anywhere
This is who you are
Hey celebrity who drives off a bridge in a car
Your beautiful body filling up with water
Like Harry Truman dropping bombs out of the air
Like any self-respecting multi-billionaire
This is who you are
Five dancing teenage boys who sing their way into our hearts
Backstreets back alright
And there's a toxic cloud hanging over her
And there's white noise on the screen
And there's a man in a hotel room assaulting the maid who just came to clean
Up the mess
Backstreets back alright
Like Ronald Reagan falling asleep for ever more
Dreaming of horses and dreaming of nuclear war
This is where we are tonight
Everybody under surveillance from a satellite
You could be the first one on your block to die
And there's a plague of locusts upon us
And there's a nightmare in the swarm
And there's a lion out in the desert slouching towards Bethlehem to be born, again
Backstreets back alright, alright.
Like any idea that never had a chance of going anywhere
This is who you are
Hey celebrity who drives off a bridge in a car
Your beautiful body filling up with water
Like Harry Truman dropping bombs out of the air
Like any self-respecting multi-billionaire
This is who you are
Five dancing teenage boys who sing their way into our hearts
Backstreets back alright
And there's a toxic cloud hanging over her
And there's white noise on the screen
And there's a man in a hotel room assaulting the maid who just came to clean
Up the mess
Backstreets back alright
Like Ronald Reagan falling asleep for ever more
Dreaming of horses and dreaming of nuclear war
This is where we are tonight
Everybody under surveillance from a satellite
You could be the first one on your block to die
And there's a plague of locusts upon us
And there's a nightmare in the swarm
And there's a lion out in the desert slouching towards Bethlehem to be born, again
Backstreets back alright, alright.
Lyrics submitted by iagoAdmirer, edited by gandalfe
Jimmy Carter Lyrics as written by Spencer
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I really dig this song's lyrics. Call me crass, but I think it's very poetic and has lots of layered meaning.
When you hear things like "electric underwear" the first time, you are tempted to think it's silly nonsense, but then you realize it's a commentary on the ineffectual administration of Carter -- who was elected as a sort of honest do-gooder in reaction to the corruption of Nixon, but then wasn't able to accomplish much. Beyond that, I sort of see the line about the idea never having had a chance as an indictment of the very idea of electing a do-gooder. But that indictment, while practical, is probably made with regret, and the real criticism is of our whole system that wouldn't allow an honest man to do well as president.
The song goes on to alternate between presidential history references and pop culture.
Then we get to the first "chorus" section, with its fantastic ambiguity. Is the toxic cloud and the white noise talking about the results of the atomic bomb we dropped, or is it talking about the shit pop culture of celebrities and boy bands? I love the image of pop culture as a toxic cloud floating over the land, putting static on our screens.
The Reagan lines are probably my favorite imagery, with dead Reagan dreaming forever of horses and nuclear war.. and then sneaking in some paranoia! Shit, talk about nailing it.
Then he brings it all home with the Yeats reference. ZAM! Look that one up yourself if you're interested in how it relates.
Electric Six has a lot of great songs, but this one's a real thinker.
@rice This is everything I wanted to say but didn't know how.
The whole song seems pretty inspired by Yeats' "Second Coming". Especially the last verse, which borrows a couple lines even.
Another literary influence seems to be "White Noise" by Don DeLillo:<br /> <br /> "And there's a toxic cloud hanging over;<br /> there's white noise on the screen."<br /> <br /> An "airborne toxic event" is a major plot point of the book.
Definately my favourite song off their new album. I think it's all obscure referances to the presidents and what they did with their time in the office. But I haven't heard it enough to know for sure...
such an awesome song..
i like the way he pronounces 'beth-ul-hem'...Dick Valentine's vocals are faaantastic.
I think perhaps he is comparing presidents to backstreet boys
I think that when Dick Valentine say "you", he is referring to USA as a nation. the anaphors with "Like" could then have an alternate meaning. Not just what America is like. But also what America likes.
It's interesting the song references The Second Coming by Yeats.
That poem has the following line
"The best lack all conviction . . ."
I feel like that describes Jimmy Carter.
This song really does describe the United States accurately.