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.
Katie you're a brave girl, and I know its only just started.
I'm gonna be there at 6, with some flowers on sticks
That were clipped just to make the weak strong.
And Katie, its a strange world when girls can get so broken hearted
If it were me and the universe, I'd get the worst of this gone.
Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in your condition
The sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there.
Oh and Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly, but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and we're really not there
We're really not there.
Katie you're a brave girl and courage is something I'll need now.
'Cause its been a hell of a day I've spent fading away
We all fade sometimes, I believe
And Katie its a strange world as I watch our tables get turned around
And you've got the strength that I've lost
Who'd have thought you'd be carrying me?
And Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in your condition
The sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there.
Oh and Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly, but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and i'm really not there
Whoa
Whoa
And it's not the end of the world,
It's not the end of the world,
It's not the end of the world,
'Cause the cops wouldn't break up this party.
And Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in your condition
The sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there.
Oh and Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly, but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and we're really not there.
Oh Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in my condition
Your sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there
Oh Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and we're really not there
We're really not there,
We're really not there.
Katie, you're a brave girl,
And I know its only just started.
I'm gonna be there at 6, with some flowers on sticks
That were clipped just to make the weak strong.
And Katie, its a strange world when girls can get so broken hearted
If it were me and the universe, I'd get the worst of this gone.
Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in your condition
The sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there.
Oh and Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly, but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and we're really not there
We're really not there.
Katie you're a brave girl and courage is something I'll need now.
'Cause its been a hell of a day I've spent fading away
We all fade sometimes, I believe
And Katie its a strange world as I watch our tables get turned around
And you've got the strength that I've lost
Who'd have thought you'd be carrying me?
And Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in your condition
The sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there.
Oh and Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly, but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and i'm really not there
Whoa
Whoa
And it's not the end of the world,
It's not the end of the world,
It's not the end of the world,
'Cause the cops wouldn't break up this party.
And Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in your condition
The sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there.
Oh and Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly, but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and we're really not there.
Oh Katie, Katie I'm sorry that in my condition
Your sunshine's been missing but Katie,
Don't believe that it isn't there
Oh Katie, Katie be happy
This world can be ugly but isn't it beautiful?
We're not really here, and we're really not there
We're really not there,
We're really not there.
Katie, you're a brave girl,
And I know its only just started.
Lyrics submitted by awakeinyou
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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.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Does anyone know when Andrew wrote this?
Gosh its so pretty.