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.
Oh this hurricane’s blowing us thin
This never ending swirl of American sin
Where I strayed on my knees to a bottomless cage
Where they throw dollar bills and hope to be saved
The poshest scarf on the warmest day…
Its enough to make you give up ….she says...
I know I know I know …it shows
As we sleep in this broken Cadillac
We watch the world leave it doesn’t look back
I gotta say that…when my heart attacks
Don’t return it…it will fire right back...
So let’s just lie here as they paint us black…
Oh this earthquake is shaking our hands
Free at the wrists just as we started a dance
The hardest thing next to diamond rings
Is the coats we have to wear just to make ends meet
I got this year and fifty more to beat…
Its enough to make you give up….she says…
I know I know I know….so let go…
The nervous ticks only the holy get
The country treats as the cities get sick
The lunatics and the Harlem tricks
The country treats as we all get sick…
This never ending swirl of American sin
Where I strayed on my knees to a bottomless cage
Where they throw dollar bills and hope to be saved
The poshest scarf on the warmest day…
Its enough to make you give up ….she says...
I know I know I know …it shows
As we sleep in this broken Cadillac
We watch the world leave it doesn’t look back
I gotta say that…when my heart attacks
Don’t return it…it will fire right back...
So let’s just lie here as they paint us black…
Oh this earthquake is shaking our hands
Free at the wrists just as we started a dance
The hardest thing next to diamond rings
Is the coats we have to wear just to make ends meet
I got this year and fifty more to beat…
Its enough to make you give up….she says…
I know I know I know….so let go…
The nervous ticks only the holy get
The country treats as the cities get sick
The lunatics and the Harlem tricks
The country treats as we all get sick…
Lyrics submitted by stere0atypical
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Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
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That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
I've listened to the song a whole lot this past year, and the lyrics are so abstract it's hard to get a feel for what they mean. Here's what this song means to me, anyhow:
Poverty is a definite theme going on here, as previous commenters have mentioned. However, I think it's by choice, as in not living beyond your means. The writer sees greed in other people, "this never-ending swirl of American sin", and he doesn't know how to compete with it as an artist. "The poshest scarf on the warmest days, it's enough to make you give up she says", a reference to the flashy "hipster" lifestyle, I believe.
Then the chorus gives a wonderful feeling of indifference. As the world keeps moving and consuming, the pair is struggling and forgotten.
The second verse section builds on the idea that when you have nothing, you have nothing to lose. The world could go up in flames, but it wouldn't stop these two from dancing.
I love this song because, in slight, it glorifies poverty. Then, it expresses a feeling of being run down by the breakneck pace of American society. It's a beautiful commentary on Western culture.