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.
You're a white collar boy and you gave into the law
Give in to the pressure the cops gonna getcha
You were a thieving dog at work until they caught your little paw
Your wage won't stretch, to picking up checks
A custodial sentence you narrowly avoided
Community service you had to go along with
You're banging the rocks at the old city docks
Poor boy poor boy poor boy poor boy
You were chained to a girl that would kill you with a look
It's a nice way to die she's so easy on the eye
She said let's get away, but you played it by the book
You're a warden's pet, she's a screaming suffragette
We ain't in prison, we'll just finish up and go home?
She said, ?Not for me, I've got plans for later on?
So she belted the sarge and she jumped on a barge
You fell, you fell you fell you fell
White collar, got dirt in your pants
You got egg in your hair
You got spit in your chin
White collar, scared to be bored
Blue Collar, she's opening doors
White collar boy, on the run from the law
She said ?You ain't ugly, you can kiss me if you like?
Go ahead and kiss her, you don't know what you're missing
You said ?Baby, you're special,
But there's something not quite right.?
She's a Venus in flares and you wanna split hairs!
I am innocent, you are a rocket.
Things were ok till you took out the copper?
Leave me alone, and get used to the chains
You're a pain, a pain, a pain, a pain
White collar, got dirt in your pants
You got egg in your hair
You got spit in your chin
White collar, scared to be bored
Blue Collar, she's opening doors
White collar boy, on the run from the law
Give in to the pressure the cops gonna getcha
You were a thieving dog at work until they caught your little paw
Your wage won't stretch, to picking up checks
A custodial sentence you narrowly avoided
Community service you had to go along with
You're banging the rocks at the old city docks
Poor boy poor boy poor boy poor boy
You were chained to a girl that would kill you with a look
It's a nice way to die she's so easy on the eye
She said let's get away, but you played it by the book
You're a warden's pet, she's a screaming suffragette
We ain't in prison, we'll just finish up and go home?
She said, ?Not for me, I've got plans for later on?
So she belted the sarge and she jumped on a barge
You fell, you fell you fell you fell
White collar, got dirt in your pants
You got egg in your hair
You got spit in your chin
White collar, scared to be bored
Blue Collar, she's opening doors
White collar boy, on the run from the law
She said ?You ain't ugly, you can kiss me if you like?
Go ahead and kiss her, you don't know what you're missing
You said ?Baby, you're special,
But there's something not quite right.?
She's a Venus in flares and you wanna split hairs!
I am innocent, you are a rocket.
Things were ok till you took out the copper?
Leave me alone, and get used to the chains
You're a pain, a pain, a pain, a pain
White collar, got dirt in your pants
You got egg in your hair
You got spit in your chin
White collar, scared to be bored
Blue Collar, she's opening doors
White collar boy, on the run from the law
Lyrics submitted by madedge, edited by Mellow_Harsher, emilierein
White Collar Boy Lyrics as written by Christopher Geddes Bob Kildea
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
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.
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Step
Ministry
Ministry
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.
I also think it's "spit in your gin". It definitely sounds like "in", not "on", hence gin and not chin. Gin goes with the whole white-collar thing, too.
I'm not sure gin is correct. Their official site has it down as "spit in your chin." Though that doesn't make much sense either.