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 sugar,
Oh sugar can't you see
How hard I'm tryin'?
You know you gotta,
You know you gotta eventually
Make up your mind
'Cause no one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
So would you
So would you talk to me?
It's time to decide
'Cause no one's gonna save ya
If you don't swim for the boat
No one's gonna save ya
If you won't take the rope
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
And it's end love the sky is fallin'
End love, the sky is fallin'
The sky is fallin'
So sugar,
So sugar dance with me
This one last time
We got no reason,
We got no reason I can see
To hold back tonight
'Cause no one's gonna catch ya
If you can't just let go
No one's gonna know ya
If you can't let love show
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
And it's end love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
The sky is fallin'
Oh sugar
Oh sugar can't you see
How hard I'm tryin'
You know you gotta
You know you gotta eventually
Make up your mind
And it's end love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
The sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
Oh sugar can't you see
How hard I'm tryin'?
You know you gotta,
You know you gotta eventually
Make up your mind
'Cause no one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
So would you
So would you talk to me?
It's time to decide
'Cause no one's gonna save ya
If you don't swim for the boat
No one's gonna save ya
If you won't take the rope
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
And it's end love the sky is fallin'
End love, the sky is fallin'
The sky is fallin'
So sugar,
So sugar dance with me
This one last time
We got no reason,
We got no reason I can see
To hold back tonight
'Cause no one's gonna catch ya
If you can't just let go
No one's gonna know ya
If you can't let love show
No one's gonna find ya
When you're hiding in the dark
No one's gonna find ya
And it's end love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
The sky is fallin'
Oh sugar
Oh sugar can't you see
How hard I'm tryin'
You know you gotta
You know you gotta eventually
Make up your mind
And it's end love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
The sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
End love the sky is fallin'
Lyrics submitted by Nannerpuss42
End Love Lyrics as written by Timothy Nordwind Damian Kulash
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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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I love the 80s feel to this song! I think it's about a relationship that is starting to fail, and the singer is trying to get the other person to give a little effort towards saving it.
I don't really like the synths for this song, but I love the chorus. It's about someone who keeps putting off a relationship because he or she is too afraid to commit.
My first thought when I heard this song was the way it connected to me on a really personal level. For me, the song means coming out of the dark and into the light, swimming for the boat and reaching out for somone. If I don't, no one will find me, no one will save me. I love this song. Bravo, boys.
I agree with ReciprocatingSaw. On all counts. (I lovessss the 80s feel too!)
Oh! And the video! Pure genius. Check it out if you can. It's awesome.
The song is pretty straightforward.
The video, on the other hand, is brilliant. I can't stop watching it and trying to figure it out.
I agree with StarDrops21, and it fits one of the overarching themes from the album: "You need to be bold, unafraid."
"White Knuckles," "End Love," and "This Too Shall Pass," all are about letting go of fear of failure and past mistakes or hardships,and embracing who you are, and doing what you know you need to do.
True, "End Love" is written to a lover to whom the narrator is speaking to, and many of the other songs on "OtBCotS" (what a cruddy acronym) are basically love songs, but I think the album was a departure from most pop interweb bands with their focus on songs like this: the message being "You can Be Awesome."