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.
you've got this spark of imagination
triggered by boredom
yet seldom turned to flame
maybe tonight is, maybe tonight is different
maybe tonight a bon fire.
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
maybe we'll jump in
in to the fire
maybe we'll stay here
away from our own...
you're in love with nothing
you're in love with no one
you're in love with nothing ing ing ing ing ingggggg yeahahahahah.
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
ease back, calm down a little
ease back, calm down
ease back, calm down a little
ease back, calm down
ease back, come down
ease back, come down
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
triggered by boredom
yet seldom turned to flame
maybe tonight is, maybe tonight is different
maybe tonight a bon fire.
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
maybe we'll jump in
in to the fire
maybe we'll stay here
away from our own...
you're in love with nothing
you're in love with no one
you're in love with nothing ing ing ing ing ingggggg yeahahahahah.
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
ease back, calm down a little
ease back, calm down
ease back, calm down a little
ease back, calm down
ease back, come down
ease back, come down
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
oh my god you're right
but you wouldnt go go go anywhere
you wouldnt go
Lyrics submitted by saltyeyes
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
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.
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
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."
hi,
this song is about my friend matt. he is a great guy with tons of raw talent that never really wanted to push himself to pursue a career in music because of the risk.
I love how jacobrolleston said what it's about but people are still debating it :') Lush song.
omg no comments??? this song is freakin' amazing!!!
well, I used to never know what this song was about, but then I learned from my older sister that apparently it's about a girl who has something that sets her off and she wants to kill herself, so basically the singer is telling her "she's right" and to "come down" and not to jump and kill herself or something like that...
I could definitely see how this song could be about a girl who was going to kill herself. I see it more as him mocking her at first. Like he knows she would never do it, but then as the song progresses, he realizes that she's completely serious, that's when he says "ease back, calm down a little ease back, calm down."
But the whole imagination triggered by boredom and the you're in love with nothing, really make me feel like he's looking down on the whole suicide choice
I LOVE THIS SONG!
caitlin376:
hmm...yeah, I know what you mean...but I think when he says "imagination triggered by boredom" he's saying the girl has always had a tougher life than most, but she tries to pretend it's no big deal and everyone has a life like hers and things aren't as bad as they seem (that's where the imagination comes in)...I agree with you about the whole "mocking her at first thing..." I'm thinking he's mocking her when he's saying "You're in love with nothing/no one..." and when he's saying it he'd be saying it in a "yeah, right/sure, if you say so" kinda way if you catch my drift...? Wish I knew how to explain this, but it's so difficult...um...well, I'll leave it at that for now I guess...
but still...this song is just freakin' amazing/awesome/and whatever sweet words you can think of
none of you are right.
this song has nothing to do with having a hard life or killing yourself
its more about
somebody who just fools around with people, they're often interested in people, but because there is nothing better and nothing catches they're interested they fall back on the only thing they can rely on, a quick hook up you know
and he's saying maybe i'll be different, maybe i'll catch your interest and spark a flame
and then he's saying oh my god you're right as in this isn't going to work, it won't work for you but he's still hoping it will
this won't go anywhere
I agree completely. This song describes me to a T, so i was a little wierded out when people started saying the girl wanted to kill herself because thats not how i feel at all. But honestly, I can see how people got the whole suicide notion. Either way, I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw this song this way. :)
totally agree with fallinXfast. makes alot of sense.
I will not attempt to interpret this, but I would like to step back and appreciate how great Jacob's voice is in this song.
"bonn fireee" Every time I hear that line I get shivers :D (not to create a oxymoron or anything)
Oh, no worries; I get the shivers too (the good kind...).
it's definitely about a girl who he feels he could very easily lose, whether it be by a suicide or not being good enough or her not looking for anything serious. in the beginning he mentions the spark of imagination, and in the second verse he says to jump into the fire, meaning to just live in their own imaginations. this is where he says she's not going anywhere.