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.
Your world was blown right apart
On a night of sickening death.
You went running for your life,
And never went home again.
I spend sleepless nights as my head
Swims worrying about you.
You work the night shift
So you won't be alone.
I am adept at cold.
You have travelled so far from home,
And sorrow has followed every step of the way.
You're caught between this life and the one left behind.
I see it's burning you inside,
Like some exploding sun.
Your mind constantly returns
To a place that's not so fucking cold...
But on fire with war.
You're starting over from scratch,
Sending your money home.
You're working as hard as you can
While life hangs in the air.
I see distant lights up ahead,
But I'm worrying about you.
It's all taking its toll
And you can't concentrate.
You are being crushed by the world.
I have got lucky so far.
And we sit, at the end of this night, dialing
An answer finally reached through a long-distance line.
News of threatening night letters,
Stones tossed over the fence.
Your loved ones taunted by murderers.
Tell them it's three years that they'll have to wait...
As their whole world implodes.
On a night of sickening death.
You went running for your life,
And never went home again.
I spend sleepless nights as my head
Swims worrying about you.
You work the night shift
So you won't be alone.
I am adept at cold.
You have travelled so far from home,
And sorrow has followed every step of the way.
You're caught between this life and the one left behind.
I see it's burning you inside,
Like some exploding sun.
Your mind constantly returns
To a place that's not so fucking cold...
But on fire with war.
You're starting over from scratch,
Sending your money home.
You're working as hard as you can
While life hangs in the air.
I see distant lights up ahead,
But I'm worrying about you.
It's all taking its toll
And you can't concentrate.
You are being crushed by the world.
I have got lucky so far.
And we sit, at the end of this night, dialing
An answer finally reached through a long-distance line.
News of threatening night letters,
Stones tossed over the fence.
Your loved ones taunted by murderers.
Tell them it's three years that they'll have to wait...
As their whole world implodes.
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Love in a Vacuum
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Holiday
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
This song is about Todd the Rod (the bassist who wrote the song) and an Afghani refugees relationship. I have read that Tod volunteers at a center that works with refugees and such, which would explain him worrying about this person ("I spend sleepless nights as my head swims worrying about you."), since this person is fleeing this war-torn region. ("You have traveled so far from home. Sorrow has followed every step of the way. You're caught between this life and the one left behind. I see it's burning you inside like some exploding sun. Your mind constantly returns to a place that's not so fucking cold, but on fire with war."). Todd talks about himself being "adept at cold", which I believe is referring to the bitterly cold winters on the prairie in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where Todd lives. The person he is talking about is far from home, which I believe is Afghanistan..
When he sings, "You're starting over from scratch, sending your money home. You're working as hard as you can while life hangs in the air. I see distant lights up ahead but I'm worrying about you. It's all taking it's toll and you can't concentrate.", I think he is explaining that this person is waiting to hear from the INS (or whatever the Canadian version is) about his/her amnesty status, which may send him/her back to war-torn Afghanistan, while also working many, many hours to support themselves, and their family back home. This stage in the government's amnesty processing could go either away, so he is "seeing distant lights up ahead", but still worried.
"You are being crushed by the world. I have gotten lucky so far." Todd, like many people living in Western society, is privileged that he hasn't had to face the same hardships (at least not yet) as this person by just living in Canada where there hasn't been a war for a long, long time, which explains him being "lucky so far".
"We sit at the end of this night-dialing. An answer finally reached through a long distance line. News of threatening night letters. Stones tossed over the fence. Your loved ones taunted by murderers. Tell them it's three years they'll have to wait as their whole world implodes." I think when Todd sings about "night-dialing" it is because Afghanistan, being on the other side of the world from Winnipeg, would mean that Todd and this Afghani refugee would have to call at night in Winnipeg for it to be daytime in Aghanistan, where they could reach this refugees family. The wikipedia article of a "night letter" is below, which explains why I believe this song is about an Afghani refugee. The murderers are the Taliban, and this refugee and their family and friends are probably supporters of secular government and eduction in Afghanistan, which is why they are "taunted by murderers". The part about having to wait three years while their world implodes may be in reference to the time it would take for this refugees family to be able to come to Canada for amnesty, but I am unsure about that part.. Brilliant and heart-wrenching song for sure though! The instrumentation matches the emotions of this song very well.. An awesome song that is very common with Propagandhi.
"A night letter is an unsigned leaflet distributed clandestinely.
More recently, night letters have been a tactic employed by the Taliban and other extremist groups in Afghanistan to intimidate supporters of secular government and education."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_letter
spot on dude. thanks for the thorough explanation
Dead on. I believe he works with the Welcome House on Qu-Apelle Ave.