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.
Well there ain't nothing to this but your daughter
And the life you would not give her break your plans
Traipsed across the continent a squatter
For your lies at night to sleep between my hands
When the lights come on this whole place gets ugly
But when they're out strangers fall in love
She could never say that flat out she don't want me
Cause I could never say that half way ain't enough
New Order's on the turn table we're dancing
Cause what else do you do when you don't talk?
Crucified to crawl into your mansion
Ya, that's why I learned to crawl before I walked
We're back where we belong
Straight back where we belong
No days for nights, no cocaine cons
Just back where we belong
Take me out back to your piranhas
And beat me until I can't even stand
Your whole life a plane without no landing gear
So if this is it then come on let me land
That trailer trash pedigree is calling
It rats you out when you're down on all fours
Me I like to cast my death on yesterday
Cause what doesn't kill us now just makes us better whores
We're back where we belong
Straight back where we belong
No days for nights, no cocaine cons
Just back where we belong
Go put it in the ground
Go bury it some place it can't be found
Go put it in the ground
Well there ain't nothing to this but your daughter
And the life you would not give her break your plans
Traipsed across the continent a squatter
For your lies at night to sleep between my hands
And the life you would not give her break your plans
Traipsed across the continent a squatter
For your lies at night to sleep between my hands
When the lights come on this whole place gets ugly
But when they're out strangers fall in love
She could never say that flat out she don't want me
Cause I could never say that half way ain't enough
New Order's on the turn table we're dancing
Cause what else do you do when you don't talk?
Crucified to crawl into your mansion
Ya, that's why I learned to crawl before I walked
We're back where we belong
Straight back where we belong
No days for nights, no cocaine cons
Just back where we belong
Take me out back to your piranhas
And beat me until I can't even stand
Your whole life a plane without no landing gear
So if this is it then come on let me land
That trailer trash pedigree is calling
It rats you out when you're down on all fours
Me I like to cast my death on yesterday
Cause what doesn't kill us now just makes us better whores
We're back where we belong
Straight back where we belong
No days for nights, no cocaine cons
Just back where we belong
Go put it in the ground
Go bury it some place it can't be found
Go put it in the ground
Well there ain't nothing to this but your daughter
And the life you would not give her break your plans
Traipsed across the continent a squatter
For your lies at night to sleep between my hands
Lyrics submitted by Kol, edited by Cypherpixie
Born Losers Lyrics as written by Matthew Good
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Mountain Song
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Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
I like this song. It was one of those free ones on iTunes that I actually liked. The meaning to the lyrics, not so clear to me, but they rock all the same. and the beat does too.