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.
Who are we to be emotional
Who are we to play with hearts
And throw away it all
Who are we to turn each others heads
Who are we to find ourselves in other people's beds
I don't like the way I never listen to myself
I feel like I'm on fire, I'm too shy to cry for help
I don't think you know me much at all
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
I'm feeling down about this love
Who are you to make me feel so good
Who are we to tell ourselves that we're misunderstood
Oh who am I to say I'm always yours
Who am I to choose the boy that everyone adores
Oh I don't see a reason why we can't just be apart
Now we're falling on each other like we're always in the dark
Oh I don't think you warned me much at all
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is not what you want
This heart will never be yours
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
Who are we to play with hearts
And throw away it all
Who are we to turn each others heads
Who are we to find ourselves in other people's beds
I don't like the way I never listen to myself
I feel like I'm on fire, I'm too shy to cry for help
I don't think you know me much at all
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
I'm feeling down about this love
Who are you to make me feel so good
Who are we to tell ourselves that we're misunderstood
Oh who am I to say I'm always yours
Who am I to choose the boy that everyone adores
Oh I don't see a reason why we can't just be apart
Now we're falling on each other like we're always in the dark
Oh I don't think you warned me much at all
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is not what you want
This heart will never be yours
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
This love is be and end all
This love will be your downfall
Lyrics submitted by romanceisdead
This Love (Will Be Your Downfall) Lyrics as written by Finlay Graham Dow Smith Ellie Goulding
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
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?
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
I think it's about her being irritated with herself for falling in love with someone that she shouldn't. She knows there will be no happy ending and that it will be her 'downfall', and she's constantly trying to convince herself that the person she wants isn't hers, and owes her nothing, so she shouldn't be feeling so 'emotional' about it. She's basically fighting her own feelings. X