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.
We're all eyes
And in my personal opinion
If we're not all you were hoping for
When you say my name
Say it like a curse
I saw your face in the magazine saying "I can't hear it"
All the girls all glittered and glossed
Screaming "we can feel you", can you feel me?
We'll die if we're not
In a corpse of conscience
Lie
These lies live a life
But don't lie to me
You're just chasing shadows
Show us some heart and confess your sins
We'll sing with arms closed
And you can tear us apart 'cause you won't break the skin
Just put on your face and
I would love nothing more in the world
Than to watch you as you spill your guts.
Unrehearsed you're just a silhouette
You never had a voice so why all the fuss?
You can have the kingdom, you can have the crown,
But you wanted the people.
No, or else you drown.
(I'm not really sure about these last two lines,
It could maybe be 'you're one of the people'?)
You're just chasing shadows
Show us some heart and confess your sins
We'll sing with arms closed
You can tear us apart 'cause you won't break the skin
Put on your face
Put on your face
And scream
You're just chasing shadows
Show us some heart and confess your sins
We'll sing with arms closed
You can tear us apart 'cause you won't break the skin
Just put on your face
Just put on your face
And scream
And scream
And scream for me
And in my personal opinion
If we're not all you were hoping for
When you say my name
Say it like a curse
I saw your face in the magazine saying "I can't hear it"
All the girls all glittered and glossed
Screaming "we can feel you", can you feel me?
We'll die if we're not
In a corpse of conscience
Lie
These lies live a life
But don't lie to me
You're just chasing shadows
Show us some heart and confess your sins
We'll sing with arms closed
And you can tear us apart 'cause you won't break the skin
Just put on your face and
I would love nothing more in the world
Than to watch you as you spill your guts.
Unrehearsed you're just a silhouette
You never had a voice so why all the fuss?
You can have the kingdom, you can have the crown,
But you wanted the people.
No, or else you drown.
(I'm not really sure about these last two lines,
It could maybe be 'you're one of the people'?)
You're just chasing shadows
Show us some heart and confess your sins
We'll sing with arms closed
You can tear us apart 'cause you won't break the skin
Put on your face
Put on your face
And scream
You're just chasing shadows
Show us some heart and confess your sins
We'll sing with arms closed
You can tear us apart 'cause you won't break the skin
Just put on your face
Just put on your face
And scream
And scream
And scream for me
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"Unrehearsed you're just a silhouette You never had a voice so why all the fuss?"
that parts seems to be about how all the new screamo bands nad whatnot all have the same look and act. and most of the singers that scream cant sing for shit.
Now I do believe that this is what the song is saying but for once I would have to turn against MBR because their are some amazing bands that can sing amazingly that scream. For one is silverstein, my personal favorite, the 80 percent that this band doesn't scream is simply amazing, not quiet like this band and maybe the old stuff they might sound a little like a 13 year old boy but it is still amazing. But I must agree that MBR is possibly the best band that has been around in a very long while.