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.
Is there a woman out there who'll take me
'Cause I've been far too hurt by this man
Apparently I don't give him leeway
Apparently I don't understand
There's the last word we were meant to have
With the crossing light turned white too fast
There's the last kiss we were meant to share
There's a new girl now so he shouldn't dare
Is there a woman out there who'll take me
'Cause I need sleep with somebody soft
I take a drink
A toast to his fortune
I'm not ready yet for coffee or talk
'Cause there are pictures I've yet to take down
And he's still watching over my cat at a hotel just down the street
'Cause the new girl prefers it like that
Is there a woman out there who'll take me
Safe from the one who's loving him tonight
She's even got a beautiful name
Now Rachael and James just doesn't seem right
Well that's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
Is there a woman out there who'll take me
'Cause I am drifting far off to sea with a couple of ticket stubs to float on
And the backlight of each memory
Is there a woman out there who'll take me away
'Cause I may never fall in love with a man
He was my best friend
My everything
He can't save me
Nobody can
That's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
'Cause I've been far too hurt by this man
Apparently I don't give him leeway
Apparently I don't understand
There's the last word we were meant to have
With the crossing light turned white too fast
There's the last kiss we were meant to share
There's a new girl now so he shouldn't dare
Is there a woman out there who'll take me
'Cause I need sleep with somebody soft
I take a drink
A toast to his fortune
I'm not ready yet for coffee or talk
'Cause there are pictures I've yet to take down
And he's still watching over my cat at a hotel just down the street
'Cause the new girl prefers it like that
Is there a woman out there who'll take me
Safe from the one who's loving him tonight
She's even got a beautiful name
Now Rachael and James just doesn't seem right
Well that's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
Is there a woman out there who'll take me
'Cause I am drifting far off to sea with a couple of ticket stubs to float on
And the backlight of each memory
Is there a woman out there who'll take me away
'Cause I may never fall in love with a man
He was my best friend
My everything
He can't save me
Nobody can
That's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
That's the way it goes
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Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
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This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
i think it's supposed to be "save for the one that's loving him tonight" as in she'll take any woman except the woman her ex is with.. and i don't think the new girl's name is rachael, but i think she's saying that her name and his don't sound right together anymore..
and thing about if he can't save her, nobody can makes sense.. even if they're the ones who hurt you so incredibly, sometimes they're the only ones who can really get through to you again