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.
The black hole, forever mine,
I need the fear, push me out.
Oh be brave, show me signs,
Should I feel shame for the questions that I have (with you)
If you could it be, the things I need
(I'll crawl through knives an inch per tear)
These knees, they bleed for you.
(Let the colour persuade the hate that you fear)
Feed the lie, force the reason,
Leave me in doubt, need some motivation
It's in my hands, the sky
So bright its burning,
It's for me to decide
If flames will reach heaven tonight.
It's in my hands.
Nailed to the floor
Paralyzed
Emotions drifting
Touching the new
If you could it be, the things I need
(I'll crawl through knives an inch per tear)
These knees, they bleed for you.
(Let the colour persuade the hate that you fear)
It's in my hands, the sky
So bright its burning,
It's for me to decide
If flames will reach heaven tonight
[Repeat x4]
I need the fear, push me out.
Oh be brave, show me signs,
Should I feel shame for the questions that I have (with you)
If you could it be, the things I need
(I'll crawl through knives an inch per tear)
These knees, they bleed for you.
(Let the colour persuade the hate that you fear)
Feed the lie, force the reason,
Leave me in doubt, need some motivation
It's in my hands, the sky
So bright its burning,
It's for me to decide
If flames will reach heaven tonight.
It's in my hands.
Nailed to the floor
Paralyzed
Emotions drifting
Touching the new
If you could it be, the things I need
(I'll crawl through knives an inch per tear)
These knees, they bleed for you.
(Let the colour persuade the hate that you fear)
It's in my hands, the sky
So bright its burning,
It's for me to decide
If flames will reach heaven tonight
[Repeat x4]
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
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?
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
![Album art](../../../images/art-default.png)
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
The chorus in this song is really kickass. For me this song is about a prophet, who wants to open the eyes of the humans. But they simply ignore him because humans don't want to hear the truth sometimes.
i appreciate that people are putting the leaked album lyrics online, but i am also getting very pissed off at the fact that they are consistently wrong. i really wish you guys would keep the lyrics off of here until you got the true ones from the CD booklet other than that... in flames is my favorite band, and to me... everything they do is magic basically
Haha, it's not about religion. ^^
It's about life, life hurts and it's supposed to... Learn from your mistakes.
yep your right, and its also about how he would crawl through knives for just to see his girl again
"It's in my hands, the sky's so bright, it's burning And for me, to design...In Flames We reach out to light, It's in my hands!"
I'm probably wrong, but I think it sounds more like
"It's in my hands, the sky's so bright, it's burning just for me, to design... we're in flames we'll reach heaven tonight"
@Varulf lyrics have been corrected based on a few different sources and listening to the song with numerous different people's opinions on the lyrics
Thanks for the correct lyrics RagingLunatix :) They do make a lot more sense. I thought the guessed lyrics were powerful but this stuff is just amazing. Listening to the lyrics, what Lord_Hypnos said about reaching God seems to make a lot of sense. Although I don't think it has anything to do with In Flames' religion or beliefs, it's almost as if they are questioning God and all the people that believe in a God, but where is he now? Eventually he decides its for him to decide. I hope that makes some sense! But it's an amazing song anyway!
not completely sure if this is right. Lemme know if it ain't
Sorry but I had to put this post at the top.<br /> <br /> The lyrics above are right, and most of you guys are wrong.<br /> <br />
Ok. The lyrics I got in some of the parts were Instead of IN FLAMES Can it be... I got "IF YOU couldnt be.. the things I need." And then the next line "THESE LIES let it bleed for you."
But other than that, I think you did a good job on this one. \m/
@deadgodinme lyrics have been corrected based on a few different sources and listening to the song with numerous different people's opinions on the lyrics
some corrections that i think are right:
first line: The black hole, forever mine
first (pre) chorus: It's You!! Could it be, the things I need These lies/eyes They bleed...for you
main (second) chorus: It's in my hands, the sky's so bright, it's burning It's for me, to design... with flames! We reach out to (the) light, It's in my hands!
@eddie_r lyrics have been corrected based on a few different sources and listening to the song with numerous different people's opinions on the lyrics
I live in Norway, and believe me, I know this.
The chorus goes like this:
It's in my hands, the sky So bright it's burning, it's for me to decide... We're Flames We'll reach heaven tonight, it's in my hands.
@Andy-666 lyrics have been corrected based on a few different sources and listening to the song with numerous different people's opinions on the lyrics
i believe that inbetween the two lines
Could it be, the things I need. These eyes, they bleed, for you.
there's the utterance of 'i'll crawl through knives just to...' and i can't hear it because it trails off, but it definitely says it.
anyway, for the new album, this is really promising. i respect these, and hope they manage to pull out another fantastic album, because i've enjoyed every piece they've composed.
@Word_up lyrics have been corrected based on a few different sources and listening to the song with numerous different people's opinions on the lyrics