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.
Go without
'Til the need seeps in
You're low, anymore
Collecting your novel petals for the stem
And glow
Glow
Melt and flow
You disarrayed your the fragile fray
Spill it out on the ragged floor
A thousand different versions of yourself
And if the old guard still offend
They got nothing left on which you depend
So enlist every ounce
Of your bright blood
And off with their heads
Jump from the hook
You're not obliged to swallow anything you despise
See, those unrepenting buzzards want your life
And they got no right
As sure as you have eyes
They got no right
Just put yourself in my new shoes
And see that I do what I do
Because the old guard still offend (their pudgy hearts and shiny hands)
They got nothing left on which we depend
So enlist every ounce
Of your bright blood
And off with their heads
Jump from the hook
You're not obliged
To swallow anything you despise
That you despise
That you despise
That you despise
That you despise
'Til the need seeps in
You're low, anymore
Collecting your novel petals for the stem
And glow
Glow
Melt and flow
You disarrayed your the fragile fray
Spill it out on the ragged floor
A thousand different versions of yourself
And if the old guard still offend
They got nothing left on which you depend
So enlist every ounce
Of your bright blood
And off with their heads
Jump from the hook
You're not obliged to swallow anything you despise
See, those unrepenting buzzards want your life
And they got no right
As sure as you have eyes
They got no right
Just put yourself in my new shoes
And see that I do what I do
Because the old guard still offend (their pudgy hearts and shiny hands)
They got nothing left on which we depend
So enlist every ounce
Of your bright blood
And off with their heads
Jump from the hook
You're not obliged
To swallow anything you despise
That you despise
That you despise
That you despise
That you despise
Lyrics submitted by heyheyhey111, edited by RamuneDrink, HLMencken
Sleeping Lessons Lyrics as written by James Russell Mercer
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I don't agree that it is an Alice and Wonderland thing. It's more like a Reign of Terror French revolt thing. At that point the people put their trust in a monarchy, where a lot of the trust goes into one person and their committee. The revolts and slaughters that resulted escalated to use of the guillotine that was a powerful symbol at the time, considering all the monarchs and officials who were getting offed by the method. Off with their heads refers back to the days of revolution. I think it's just a loose allusion, but it works well when you think it through. At the time, in the 18th century, there had been a string of serf, commoner, and peasant revolts around Europe, though they all had their causes and timings.
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I think it's about a coup of social thinking. In times that are on the verge of revolution or the cusp of new eras (in all areas, art, politics, etc), there is always some need for something different and new...when this has to do with religion or political status or circumstance, the need builds, which is what he talks about in the first stanza. The idea of calling someone a low animal for it is like saying, look what's happening, and you're waiting? You're waiting till it hurts so bad you can't do something? As if it were inhumane, making that person a monster of sorts. By saying that, it urges the audience to /not/ be that.