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.
If I lose you
If I lose you
If I lose you
If I lose you
Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, mmm
If I, if I, if I, if I, if I
B-b-b-b-baby g g g, so g g g, you you you
If I lose you
If I lose you
Uh huh, uh huh
If I lose you in the street
If I lose you in the street
If I lose you in the street at night
If I lose you in the street
If I lose, don't be sad
If I lose you in the street
If I lose you in the street, hey
If I lose you in the street
G g come here come here come
Feel for you
Kiss me, break my mind, close the door
Black steel, break my mind, close the door
Black steel, the sight of you falling out
The sight of you
If I lose you in the street, six
If I lose you in the street
I say, I say, I say, I say, I say, I say
Wassup, wassup with you?
Wassup with your friends?
High hills, high hills
Oh I, m b v m b v m b v m b v m b v more m b v hi fi
I wanna see you
Stand up, stand up, stand up
In the high hills
Don't trade, don't don't I don't trade
Don't trade, don't don't I don't trade
May I, may I walk with you?
May I walk with you? uh-oh
In the time takes to slide it back
In the time it changes, recorded at the automat
San francisco mixed with uh-oh
In the time takes to slide it back
In the time it changes shhhhh
Emotional chi, emotional chi
Come on baby, don't fuss
In the time takes to slide it back
Say a what say a what eh eh eh eh eh eh eh
In the time takes to slide it back
Questions say what
I like you mostly late at night
Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight with a tight
Budokan warp, budokan warp, we warp
B b b b b freestyle
I like you mostly late at night
Break my mind, break my mind
In the time takes to slide it back
Raining in my room, sweet and sleepy
Wassup wassup
I can remember I can remember four
We can we can we can we can three
Keep us together keep us together keep us together
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
Forever
You can be me, swim
The face of you,
Ok the face, we can take it back
I can take you the hills
Days like television
Days like television
D-d-d-d-d-days like television
Face of you, the face of you
In the time takes to slide it back
In the time takes to slide it back
The face of you, for, that's all
Should I wait for you s f l
Should I wait for you?
Should I wait for you?
Come on, should I?
Never forget who you are
There's no reason
D-d-d-d-d-d-d girls
There's no reason wassup
Responsibility, free
In the time takes sliding back
In the time
Responsibility, girls
D-d-d-d-d-d-d break
Wassup
I don't trade
Wassup
I don't trade
Yeah yeah
I don't trade
Wassup
Contact, contact, just sweet remember contact
Boom, contact, contact
That's the way, your first, your last, your only contact
Uh-oh, uh-oh, contact
The first, the last, the only
Bounce, twirl
I don't trade
I don't trade
Yeah yeah
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
Je danse, je suis
In the time takes sliding back
Contact
Je suis, je danse
D-d-d-d with a bit of freestyle
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
Should I?
Time takes sliding back
Contact
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Contact
He's the shaker, baby
In the time takes sliding back
Twelve o'clock
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Contact, swallow
Twelve o'clock, one o'clock, no pretending
Virginia, looking at it last night
Virginia plain
Recorded at the power plant, yeah
Vacant together, vacant together, eyes vacant
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
No pretending, contact, you and me
Contact, you and me
Wassup, contact
He's the shaker
Watch him, I can't stand the way, I don't like it
Contact
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
I can't stand the way, I don't like it
Contact
I don't like twelve o'clock either
Contact
Shake it, don't go vacant on me
Don't go vacant on me
Waiting, contact, shaking, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Watch him, contact, shake it, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Don't go vacant, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
I can't stand the rain, I don't like it at all
If I lose you
If I lose you
If I lose you
Uh huh, uh huh, uh huh, mmm
If I, if I, if I, if I, if I
B-b-b-b-baby g g g, so g g g, you you you
If I lose you
If I lose you
Uh huh, uh huh
If I lose you in the street
If I lose you in the street
If I lose you in the street at night
If I lose you in the street
If I lose, don't be sad
If I lose you in the street
If I lose you in the street, hey
If I lose you in the street
G g come here come here come
Feel for you
Kiss me, break my mind, close the door
Black steel, break my mind, close the door
Black steel, the sight of you falling out
The sight of you
If I lose you in the street, six
If I lose you in the street
I say, I say, I say, I say, I say, I say
Wassup, wassup with you?
Wassup with your friends?
High hills, high hills
Oh I, m b v m b v m b v m b v m b v more m b v hi fi
I wanna see you
Stand up, stand up, stand up
In the high hills
Don't trade, don't don't I don't trade
Don't trade, don't don't I don't trade
May I, may I walk with you?
May I walk with you? uh-oh
In the time takes to slide it back
In the time it changes, recorded at the automat
San francisco mixed with uh-oh
In the time takes to slide it back
In the time it changes shhhhh
Emotional chi, emotional chi
Come on baby, don't fuss
In the time takes to slide it back
Say a what say a what eh eh eh eh eh eh eh
In the time takes to slide it back
Questions say what
I like you mostly late at night
Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight with a tight
Budokan warp, budokan warp, we warp
B b b b b freestyle
I like you mostly late at night
Break my mind, break my mind
In the time takes to slide it back
Raining in my room, sweet and sleepy
Wassup wassup
I can remember I can remember four
We can we can we can we can three
Keep us together keep us together keep us together
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
Forever
You can be me, swim
The face of you,
Ok the face, we can take it back
I can take you the hills
Days like television
Days like television
D-d-d-d-d-days like television
Face of you, the face of you
In the time takes to slide it back
In the time takes to slide it back
The face of you, for, that's all
Should I wait for you s f l
Should I wait for you?
Should I wait for you?
Come on, should I?
Never forget who you are
There's no reason
D-d-d-d-d-d-d girls
There's no reason wassup
Responsibility, free
In the time takes sliding back
In the time
Responsibility, girls
D-d-d-d-d-d-d break
Wassup
I don't trade
Wassup
I don't trade
Yeah yeah
I don't trade
Wassup
Contact, contact, just sweet remember contact
Boom, contact, contact
That's the way, your first, your last, your only contact
Uh-oh, uh-oh, contact
The first, the last, the only
Bounce, twirl
I don't trade
I don't trade
Yeah yeah
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
Je danse, je suis
In the time takes sliding back
Contact
Je suis, je danse
D-d-d-d with a bit of freestyle
In the time takes sliding back
In the time takes sliding back
Should I?
Time takes sliding back
Contact
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Contact
He's the shaker, baby
In the time takes sliding back
Twelve o'clock
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Contact, swallow
Twelve o'clock, one o'clock, no pretending
Virginia, looking at it last night
Virginia plain
Recorded at the power plant, yeah
Vacant together, vacant together, eyes vacant
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
No pretending, contact, you and me
Contact, you and me
Wassup, contact
He's the shaker
Watch him, I can't stand the way, I don't like it
Contact
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
I can't stand the way, I don't like it
Contact
I don't like twelve o'clock either
Contact
Shake it, don't go vacant on me
Don't go vacant on me
Waiting, contact, shaking, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Watch him, contact, shake it, baby
He's the shaker, baby
Don't go vacant, baby
He's the shaker, baby
He's the shaker, baby
I can't stand the rain, I don't like it at all
Lyrics submitted by rhythmsuicide
The Leanover Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
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That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
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Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
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I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
i think the lyrics are maybe about the start of a relationship, or thinking back to the start after you've broken up. It seems wistful and nostalgic. Music is a big part of it. Makes me think of making mixtapes for your intended when you first meet. There's loads of music references in the song: "MBV" = My Bloody Valentine, "black steel" = the song by Public Enemy (or Tricky), "i like you mostly late at night" = Robert Wyatt lyric (from Sea Song), "Virginia plain" = the Roxy Music song, "recorded at the automat, san franscisco mixed with uh oh" = the automat was a recording studio in san fransisco where many bands such as The Clash and Echo And The Bunnymen made albums, "recorded at the power plant" = a liner note about a recording studio(?), "i can't stand the rain" - the song by Anne Peebles (or Missy Elliott), "raining in my room" - the song by Swell Maps, theres probably loads more. Perhaps "i don't trade" refers to trading records?
I think as with most of the LWB lyrics, this seems to be a jumble of really personal references, things that friends might have said, bits taken from the paper or popular culture and really lovely poetic asides - like reading someones notebooks or picking through their brains. But i might be completely wrong of course. Regardless, this song is wicked!