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.
Oh God, God, she's really done it now,
Coked up, her body's all spun around,
Oh yeah, yeah, she's really done it,
And seein' her just isn't something I can stomach,
Back it up, back it up,
If you talkin' shit to me,
Smack it up, smack it up,
If you act a bitch to me,
Stack it up, stack it up,
If you fuckin' rich as me,
My daddy owns a dealership,
The rest is fuckin' history
This ain't a love song (oh no),
This ain't a broken heart homie singin' only 'cause he's lonely,
This ain't a love song (oh, no, no, no),
This ain't a whiskey-drowned ballad,
There ain't nothing here that's valid,
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
I can't do it alone,
I can't do it alone,
No, I can't do it alone
Oh no, no, I'm not impressed with you,
Pink drinks that seem to get the best of you,
Rock late and sleep until the sun sets,
I'd talk but you took the tongue I talk with
Back it up, back it up,
If you talkin' shit to me,
Smack it up, smack it up,
If you act a bitch to me,
Stack it up, stack it up,
If you fuckin' rich as me,
My daddy owns a dealership,
The rest is fuckin' history
This ain't a love song (oh no),
This ain't a broken heart homie singin' only 'cause he's lonely,
This ain't a love song (oh, no, no, no),
This ain't a whiskey-drowned ballad,
There ain't nothing here that's valid,
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
I can't do it alone,
I can't do it alone,
No, I can't do it alone
I can call you out and complain the rain is worse,
But it's that much better if I blame it on a person,
I can call you out and complain the rain is worse,
But it's that much better if I blame it on a person
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
Coked up, her body's all spun around,
Oh yeah, yeah, she's really done it,
And seein' her just isn't something I can stomach,
Back it up, back it up,
If you talkin' shit to me,
Smack it up, smack it up,
If you act a bitch to me,
Stack it up, stack it up,
If you fuckin' rich as me,
My daddy owns a dealership,
The rest is fuckin' history
This ain't a love song (oh no),
This ain't a broken heart homie singin' only 'cause he's lonely,
This ain't a love song (oh, no, no, no),
This ain't a whiskey-drowned ballad,
There ain't nothing here that's valid,
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
I can't do it alone,
I can't do it alone,
No, I can't do it alone
Oh no, no, I'm not impressed with you,
Pink drinks that seem to get the best of you,
Rock late and sleep until the sun sets,
I'd talk but you took the tongue I talk with
Back it up, back it up,
If you talkin' shit to me,
Smack it up, smack it up,
If you act a bitch to me,
Stack it up, stack it up,
If you fuckin' rich as me,
My daddy owns a dealership,
The rest is fuckin' history
This ain't a love song (oh no),
This ain't a broken heart homie singin' only 'cause he's lonely,
This ain't a love song (oh, no, no, no),
This ain't a whiskey-drowned ballad,
There ain't nothing here that's valid,
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
I can't do it alone,
I can't do it alone,
No, I can't do it alone
I can call you out and complain the rain is worse,
But it's that much better if I blame it on a person,
I can call you out and complain the rain is worse,
But it's that much better if I blame it on a person
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
So tell me baby, pretty baby, that this house is not a graveyard,
Tell me how to stay strong and carry you home,
Over corpses of her long-lost fathers and her unborn daughters,
God dammit, I just can't do it alone
Lyrics submitted by kmk_natasha
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
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.
I can't believe there;s only 2 comments on this song. It's so catchy and just amazing...I love it. :)