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.
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, (J.R.), replay
Remember the first time we met
You was at the mall wit' yo' friend
I was scared to approach ya, but then you came closer
Hopin' you would give me a chance
Who would have ever knew
That we would ever be more than friends?
We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules
She like a song played again and again
That girl like somethin' off a poster
That girl is a dime they say
That girl is a gun to my holster
And she's running through my mind all day, ayy
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
See you been all around the globe
Not once did you leave my mind
We talk on the phone, from night 'til the morn'
Girl, you really changed my life
Doin' things I never do
I'm in the kitchen cookin' things she likes
We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules
Someday I wanna make you my wife
That girl like somethin' off a poster
That girl is a dime they say (hey)
That girl is a gun to my holster
And she's running through my mind all day, ay
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay (oh)
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
I can be your melody
Oh, girl, I could write you a symphony
The one that could fill your fantasies
So come, baby girl, let's sing with me, ayy
I can be your melody
Oh, girl, I could write you a symphony
The one that could fill your fantasies
So come, baby girl, let's sing with me, ayy
Na, na-na, na-na, na-na
Na-na, na-na, na-na
Shawty, got me singin'
Na, na-na, na-na, na-na
Na-na, na-na, na-na
Now she got me singin'
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, (ooh) got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay (ayy)
Shawty's like a melody (like a melody) in my head
That I can't keep (hey) out, got me singin' like (hey, ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, (J.R.), replay
Remember the first time we met
You was at the mall wit' yo' friend
I was scared to approach ya, but then you came closer
Hopin' you would give me a chance
Who would have ever knew
That we would ever be more than friends?
We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules
She like a song played again and again
That girl like somethin' off a poster
That girl is a dime they say
That girl is a gun to my holster
And she's running through my mind all day, ayy
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
See you been all around the globe
Not once did you leave my mind
We talk on the phone, from night 'til the morn'
Girl, you really changed my life
Doin' things I never do
I'm in the kitchen cookin' things she likes
We're real worldwide, breaking all the rules
Someday I wanna make you my wife
That girl like somethin' off a poster
That girl is a dime they say (hey)
That girl is a gun to my holster
And she's running through my mind all day, ay
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay (oh)
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
I can be your melody
Oh, girl, I could write you a symphony
The one that could fill your fantasies
So come, baby girl, let's sing with me, ayy
I can be your melody
Oh, girl, I could write you a symphony
The one that could fill your fantasies
So come, baby girl, let's sing with me, ayy
Na, na-na, na-na, na-na
Na-na, na-na, na-na
Shawty, got me singin'
Na, na-na, na-na, na-na
Na-na, na-na, na-na
Now she got me singin'
Shawty's like a melody in my head
That I can't keep out, (ooh) got me singin' like (ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay (ayy)
Shawty's like a melody (like a melody) in my head
That I can't keep (hey) out, got me singin' like (hey, ayy)
Na-na-na-na, every day
It's like my iPod stuck on replay, replay-ay-ay-ay-ay
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