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.
Comparisons are easily done
Once you've had a taste of perfection
Like an apple hanging from a tree
I picked the ripest one
I still got the seed
You said move on, where do I go?
I guess second best is all I will know
'Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you (thinking of you, thinking of you)
Thinking of you
What you would do if you were the one
Who was spending the night (spending the night, spending the night)
Oh, I wish that I
Was looking into your eyes, eyes
You're like an Indian summer in the middle of winter
Like a hard candy with a surprise center
How do I get better once I've had the best?
You said, there's tons of fish in the water
So the waters I will test
He kissed my lips, I taste your mouth (I taste your mouth), oh
He pulled me in, I was disgusted with myself
'Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you (thinking of you, thinking of you)
Thinking of you
What you would do if you were the one
Who was spending the night (spending the night, spending the night)
Oh, I wish that I
Was looking into
You're the best
And yes, I do regret
How I could let myself let you go
Now, now the lesson's learned
I touched it, I was burned
Oh, I think you should know
'Cause when I'm with him (oh)
I am thinking of you (thinking of you, thinking of you)
Thinking of you (oh)
What you would do if you were the one
Who was spending the night (spending the night, spending the night)
Oh, I wish that I
Was looking into your, your eyes
Looking into your eyes
Looking into your eyes
Oh, won't you walk through
And bust in the door and take me away?
Oh, no more mistakes
'Cause in your eyes, I'd like to stay, stay
Once you've had a taste of perfection
Like an apple hanging from a tree
I picked the ripest one
I still got the seed
You said move on, where do I go?
I guess second best is all I will know
'Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you (thinking of you, thinking of you)
Thinking of you
What you would do if you were the one
Who was spending the night (spending the night, spending the night)
Oh, I wish that I
Was looking into your eyes, eyes
You're like an Indian summer in the middle of winter
Like a hard candy with a surprise center
How do I get better once I've had the best?
You said, there's tons of fish in the water
So the waters I will test
He kissed my lips, I taste your mouth (I taste your mouth), oh
He pulled me in, I was disgusted with myself
'Cause when I'm with him
I am thinking of you (thinking of you, thinking of you)
Thinking of you
What you would do if you were the one
Who was spending the night (spending the night, spending the night)
Oh, I wish that I
Was looking into
You're the best
And yes, I do regret
How I could let myself let you go
Now, now the lesson's learned
I touched it, I was burned
Oh, I think you should know
'Cause when I'm with him (oh)
I am thinking of you (thinking of you, thinking of you)
Thinking of you (oh)
What you would do if you were the one
Who was spending the night (spending the night, spending the night)
Oh, I wish that I
Was looking into your, your eyes
Looking into your eyes
Looking into your eyes
Oh, won't you walk through
And bust in the door and take me away?
Oh, no more mistakes
'Cause in your eyes, I'd like to stay, stay
Lyrics submitted by greenchristine
Thinking of You Lyrics as written by Katy Perry
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
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You women are evil.
For me this song represents how my ex girlfriend feels now (not being cocky, she tells me so), we were together for 3 years and she went to study to a city far away and left me for another guy after 3 years and all the sacrifice and things I gave her. Eventually she came back, but we were never back together, we just tried and tried for about one year and a half. Now I put an end to it and started seeing another girl and now she is regretting it deeply crying every night, she regrets everything she's done and how little effort she put into getting together back again.