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.
I messed up again when I tried
You spend all your money and I
And, oh! By the way.
With all you did nothing has changed
So lie like a waste by the side
As everything just falls apart
'Cause everything just fell apart for me
I cracked my head and broke my
I correct my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
And I don't feel the need to go on
I was happier singing along the way
I had things, I need to say
But now its like a swallowed tape
That holds up my face from inside
'As everything just falls apart
'Cause everything just fell apart for me
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
So woe is me
Oh woe is me, yeah
Woe is me
It all fell apart
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my...heart
And the hell of it is what we are
We finish and wish we could start again
Our skin tears away as our memories fade with age
And we don't even know 'til its gone...
But everything just fell apart
'Cause everything just falls apart for me
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
So woe is me
It all falls apart you see
So woe is me
It all fell apart
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
Everything just comes down
It falls around me cause, well
Everything just falls uhhhh
So woe is me
It all falls apart you see
So woe is me
It all fell apart
But I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
Everything just falls a
You spend all your money and I
And, oh! By the way.
With all you did nothing has changed
So lie like a waste by the side
As everything just falls apart
'Cause everything just fell apart for me
I cracked my head and broke my
I correct my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
And I don't feel the need to go on
I was happier singing along the way
I had things, I need to say
But now its like a swallowed tape
That holds up my face from inside
'As everything just falls apart
'Cause everything just fell apart for me
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
So woe is me
Oh woe is me, yeah
Woe is me
It all fell apart
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my...heart
And the hell of it is what we are
We finish and wish we could start again
Our skin tears away as our memories fade with age
And we don't even know 'til its gone...
But everything just fell apart
'Cause everything just falls apart for me
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
So woe is me
It all falls apart you see
So woe is me
It all fell apart
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my heart
Everything just comes down
It falls around me cause, well
Everything just falls uhhhh
So woe is me
It all falls apart you see
So woe is me
It all fell apart
But I cracked my head and broke my
I cracked my head and broke my
Everything just falls a
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i believe the girl he might be talking about came from the song "Shallow" because in that talked about getting a 2nd chance with her and the next time he tried to get it right but messed up again and everything just fell apart completely
Bingo! That is my thought as well. The first verse is a giveaway. <br /> <br /> "And oh! By the way, with all you did nothing has changed, so lie like a waste by the side" <br /> <br /> Now, this doesn't mean that it is DEFINITELY tied to Shallow, but it is possible. <br /> <br /> The song in whole says that he tried to fix the problems in his relationship. The "spend all your money then died" line is where the girl starts speaking (which makes sense, given the next couple lines after it and the explanation I gave earlier in this post). He is broke, and because of that, dead to her (which, again, is where the Shallow connection is for me). <br /> <br /> He cracked his head by thinking he could fix it. He beat his head against the proverbial wall trying to make this relationship work. Because of that, and the hope he had, and for the fact that he feels like he could have done something different somewhere to keep her, he feels like he broke his own heart. Could also be as simple as saying "I made myself vulnerable, she doesn't care about me, and due to this, I am heartbroken."<br /> <br /> "And the hell of it is what we are<br /> We finish and wish we could start again<br /> Our skin tears away as our memories fade with age<br /> And we don't even know 'til its gone...<br /> But everything just fell apart<br /> 'Cause everything just falls apart for me"<br /> <br /> He's reminiscing. He knows who they both are, as individuals, and knowing how they went from being happy to being miserable. They "finish" by breaking up, and wish they could start over again and do some things different. The skin tearing away is metaphorical for aging, as old skin cells die, and that ties to the memories also dying with age (memories fade with age...). The rest of the verse is self-explanatory. <br /> <br /> Awesome song. Honestly, and I saw a comment on another song by Hurt, but I feel like some of the songs are coming true in my own life...it's a bit creepy. Shallow and this one both. I guess knowing J. went through it is helping me some.