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.
So far away
Come on I'll take you far away
Let's get away
Come on let's make a get away
Once you have loved someone this much
You doubt it could fade
Despite how much you'd like it to
God how you'd like it, you'd like it to fade
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
If we get away
You know we might just stay away
So stay awake
Oh, why the hell should I stay awake?
When you're far away
Oh god you are so far away
I looked at your wall
Saw that old passport photograph
I look like I've just jumped the Berlin Wall
Berlin I love you
I'm starting to fade
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
Come on I'll take you far away
Let's get away
Come on let's make a get away
Once you have loved someone this much
You doubt it could fade
Despite how much you'd like it to
God how you'd like it, you'd like it to fade
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
If we get away
You know we might just stay away
So stay awake
Oh, why the hell should I stay awake?
When you're far away
Oh god you are so far away
I looked at your wall
Saw that old passport photograph
I look like I've just jumped the Berlin Wall
Berlin I love you
I'm starting to fade
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
Let's fade forever
Let's fade together
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The Spy
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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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when rules change
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Step
Ministry
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Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
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Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I always imagined it as the first comment stated, but slightly differently. Instead of a break up, and wanting to forget an old love, both of them, for whatever reasons, are forced to live physically far apart, and it's almost happening by force. I know that seems like the "too obvious" interpretation, but it really does remind me of that situation. Everyone in a distance-relationship wants to make it work so bad because they were so happy with each other, and they try so hard, but eventually, two things happen: you get so miserable wishing the person was here, you almost wish you were never together to begin with, and want all of these emotions and feelings to "fade". Then secondly, after not seeing each other for forever, no matter how hard you try your mind instinctively starts forcing you to forget your feelings. When he goes to her room and looks at her old photograph, it doesn't invoke the same feeling anymore, and it scares him, but he's mixed. Part of him is glad, because the sadness is going away too.
This happens a lot to me with close friends who move away. I don't want to forget my friends, but it really does feel like a nice photograph fading with time. I'm very grateful my best friend Nikki found me in college after we separated.
As for the Berlin wall, I'm not really sure. But with this context, it could just be emphasizing the physical and emotional distance; a surprising amount of couples and families were actually separated when the wall was put up, and were legally not allowed to see each other.
Ah, I misread. I thought it was the girl's passport. That actually works better with my description. He probably visited her in Berlin after she left, and the Berlin wall was probably reflecting how he was so passionate about seeing her, it was as if he jumped the wall for her. "Berlin, I love you" - he loves Berlin, because that's where his girl is, and where his feelings are strongest, "I'm starting to fade" - but it's too late, his feelings are fading and he can't muster up the drive to see her again. He doesn't want to. And he probably keeps the passport in her room to keep her stuff separate, so he doesn't have to see them and think about her.