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.
I got ninety nine problems and they all bitches
Wish I was Jigga man, carefree living
But I'm not Shawn or Martin Louie
I'm the Cleveland nigga rollin' with them Brooklyn boys
You know how I be when you start livin' large
I control my own life, Charles was never in charge
No sitcom could teach Scott about the dram'
Or even explain the troubles that haunted my mom
On Christmas time, my mom Christmas grind
Got me most of what I wanted, how'd you do it mom, huh?
She copped the toys I would play with in my room by myself, why he by himself?
He got two older brothers, one hood, one good
An independent older sister got me fly when she could
But they all didn't see,
The little bit of sadness in me, Scotty
I've got some issues that nobody can see
And all of these emotions are pouring out of me
I bring them to the light for you
It's only right
This is the soundtrack to my life (yeah, yeah)
The soundtrack to my life
I'm super paranoid, like a sixth sense
Since my father died, I ain't been right since
And I tried to piece the puzzle of the universe
Split an eighth of 'shrooms just so I could see the universe
I tried to think about myself as a sacrifice
Just to show the kids they ain't the only ones who up at night
The moon will illuminate my room and soon I'm consumed by my doom
Once upon a time nobody gave a fuck
It's all said and done and my cock's been sucked
So now I'm in the cut, alcohol in the wound
My heart's an open sore that I hope heals soon
I live in a cocoon opposite of Cancun
Where it is never sunny, the dark side of the moon
So it's more than right, I try to shed some light on a man
Not many people of this planet understand, fam'
I've got some issues that nobody can see
And all of these emotions are pouring out of me
I bring them to the light for you
It's only right
This is the soundtrack to my life
The soundtrack to my life
I was close to go and trying some coke
And a happy ending would be slitting my throat
Ignorance the cope man
Ignorance is bliss
Ignorance is love, and I need that shit
If I never did shows, then I'd probably be a myth
If I cared about the blogs, then I'd probably be a jack-ass
Don't give a shit what people talkin' 'bout fam
Haters shake my hand but I keep the sanitizer on deck
Hope I really get to see thirty
Wanna settle down, stop being so flirty
Most of the clean faces be the most dirty
I just need a thoroughbred, cook when I'm hungry
Ass all chunky, brain is insanity
Only things that calm me down, pussy and some Cali tree
And I get both, never truly satisfied
I am happy, that's just the saddest lie
I've got some issues that nobody can see
And all of these emotions are pouring out of me
I bring them to the light for you
It's only right
This is the soundtrack to my life,
The soundtrack to my life
To my life
To my life
To my life
To my life
Yeah uh huh yeah (to my life)
Yeah uh huh yeah (to my life)
Yeah uh huh yeah (to my life)
Yeah uh huh yeah
Yeah uh huh yeah
Yeah uh huh yeah
Yeah yeah
Wish I was Jigga man, carefree living
But I'm not Shawn or Martin Louie
I'm the Cleveland nigga rollin' with them Brooklyn boys
You know how I be when you start livin' large
I control my own life, Charles was never in charge
No sitcom could teach Scott about the dram'
Or even explain the troubles that haunted my mom
On Christmas time, my mom Christmas grind
Got me most of what I wanted, how'd you do it mom, huh?
She copped the toys I would play with in my room by myself, why he by himself?
He got two older brothers, one hood, one good
An independent older sister got me fly when she could
But they all didn't see,
The little bit of sadness in me, Scotty
I've got some issues that nobody can see
And all of these emotions are pouring out of me
I bring them to the light for you
It's only right
This is the soundtrack to my life (yeah, yeah)
The soundtrack to my life
I'm super paranoid, like a sixth sense
Since my father died, I ain't been right since
And I tried to piece the puzzle of the universe
Split an eighth of 'shrooms just so I could see the universe
I tried to think about myself as a sacrifice
Just to show the kids they ain't the only ones who up at night
The moon will illuminate my room and soon I'm consumed by my doom
Once upon a time nobody gave a fuck
It's all said and done and my cock's been sucked
So now I'm in the cut, alcohol in the wound
My heart's an open sore that I hope heals soon
I live in a cocoon opposite of Cancun
Where it is never sunny, the dark side of the moon
So it's more than right, I try to shed some light on a man
Not many people of this planet understand, fam'
I've got some issues that nobody can see
And all of these emotions are pouring out of me
I bring them to the light for you
It's only right
This is the soundtrack to my life
The soundtrack to my life
I was close to go and trying some coke
And a happy ending would be slitting my throat
Ignorance the cope man
Ignorance is bliss
Ignorance is love, and I need that shit
If I never did shows, then I'd probably be a myth
If I cared about the blogs, then I'd probably be a jack-ass
Don't give a shit what people talkin' 'bout fam
Haters shake my hand but I keep the sanitizer on deck
Hope I really get to see thirty
Wanna settle down, stop being so flirty
Most of the clean faces be the most dirty
I just need a thoroughbred, cook when I'm hungry
Ass all chunky, brain is insanity
Only things that calm me down, pussy and some Cali tree
And I get both, never truly satisfied
I am happy, that's just the saddest lie
I've got some issues that nobody can see
And all of these emotions are pouring out of me
I bring them to the light for you
It's only right
This is the soundtrack to my life,
The soundtrack to my life
To my life
To my life
To my life
To my life
Yeah uh huh yeah (to my life)
Yeah uh huh yeah (to my life)
Yeah uh huh yeah (to my life)
Yeah uh huh yeah
Yeah uh huh yeah
Yeah uh huh yeah
Yeah yeah
Lyrics submitted by sarararawr
Soundtrack 2 My Life Lyrics as written by Scott Mescudi Emile Haynie
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Jesse with the long hair....
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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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@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
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.
"No SITCOM could teach Scott about the dram Or even explain the troubles that haunted my mom"
Charles In Charge was a really popular sitcom that ran for 5 seasons in the late 80s. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_in_charge
Charles was a 19y/o babysitter who lived with the family he worked for and taught the kids life lessons and whatnot.
Usually sitcoms in the 80s and 90s were formulaic, in that they dealt with the same "problems" that "every family" deals with... boy/girl friend trouble, lying, stealing, etc. It was very rare for any of them to deal with life shattering things like divorce or the death of a loved one.
So those lines are showing that he went through struggles that not many people have to deal with. His life was nothing like the picture perfect lives of the 80s and 90s primetime block.