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 my God, did I just say that out loud?
Should've known this was the kind of place
That that sort of thing just wasn't allowed
Should've known by the color of the drapes
(Oh, my bad, venetian blinds)
What the hell was I thinking saying exactly what's on my mind?
But I won't deny I got a dirty mouth
My mother tried, my father tried, my teachers tried
But they couldn't wash it out
And look at me now up here running my mouth
I just open it up and see what comes running out
Like I give a fuck, like I give a shit, like I give a fuck about that shit
Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit
And you can tell the President to suck my fucking dick
Does that sound intelligent? Like I give a fucking frick
Tell the FBI put me on the list because Lennon wasn't this dangerous
Call the Christians, tell them all that I'm taller than Jesus
They tore down the parking lot and put in a parking lot and what do they got?
And if you followed the plot then you know I'm not going to give it a second thought
Yeah, let those pigs play because they'll all fucking pay
Yeah, karma's a fact, that shit'll come back someday
And I'll be like
Like I give a fuck, like I give a shit like I give a shit about that fuck
Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit
Should've known this was the kind of place
That that sort of thing just wasn't allowed
Should've known by the color of the drapes
(Oh, my bad, venetian blinds)
What the hell was I thinking saying exactly what's on my mind?
But I won't deny I got a dirty mouth
My mother tried, my father tried, my teachers tried
But they couldn't wash it out
And look at me now up here running my mouth
I just open it up and see what comes running out
Like I give a fuck, like I give a shit, like I give a fuck about that shit
Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit
And you can tell the President to suck my fucking dick
Does that sound intelligent? Like I give a fucking frick
Tell the FBI put me on the list because Lennon wasn't this dangerous
Call the Christians, tell them all that I'm taller than Jesus
They tore down the parking lot and put in a parking lot and what do they got?
And if you followed the plot then you know I'm not going to give it a second thought
Yeah, let those pigs play because they'll all fucking pay
Yeah, karma's a fact, that shit'll come back someday
And I'll be like
Like I give a fuck, like I give a shit like I give a shit about that fuck
Like I give a fuck about that motherfucking shit
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
These lyrics are completely amazing.