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.
Headline: "murder, young girl killed
Desperate shooting at echo's hill
Dreadful ending, killer died
Evidently suicide."
A witness heard a horrifying sound
He ran to find a woman dead and
Lying on the ground
Standing by her was a man
Nervous, shaking, gun in hand
Witness says he tried to help
But he'd turned the weapon on himself
His body fell across that poor young girl
After shouting out in vain
The witness ran to call for assistance
A sad close to a broken love affair
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
She wanted love forever
But he had another plan
He fell into an evil way
She had to let him down
She said, "I can't love a wayward man."
She may have found a reason to forgive
If he had only tried to change
Was their fatal meeting prearranged
Had a violent struggle taken place
There was every sign that lead there
Witness found a switchblade on the ground
Was the victim unaware
They continued to investigate
They found a note in the killer's pocket
It could have been a suicide letter
Maybe he had lost her love
I feel there's only one thing left to do
I'd sooner take my life away
Than live with losing you
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
Desperate shooting at echo's hill
Dreadful ending, killer died
Evidently suicide."
A witness heard a horrifying sound
He ran to find a woman dead and
Lying on the ground
Standing by her was a man
Nervous, shaking, gun in hand
Witness says he tried to help
But he'd turned the weapon on himself
His body fell across that poor young girl
After shouting out in vain
The witness ran to call for assistance
A sad close to a broken love affair
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
She wanted love forever
But he had another plan
He fell into an evil way
She had to let him down
She said, "I can't love a wayward man."
She may have found a reason to forgive
If he had only tried to change
Was their fatal meeting prearranged
Had a violent struggle taken place
There was every sign that lead there
Witness found a switchblade on the ground
Was the victim unaware
They continued to investigate
They found a note in the killer's pocket
It could have been a suicide letter
Maybe he had lost her love
I feel there's only one thing left to do
I'd sooner take my life away
Than live with losing you
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
Our deeds have traveled far
What we have been is what we are
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
All that we learn this time
(what we have been is what we are)
Is carried beyond this life
Lyrics submitted by Idan, edited by Octavarium64
Beyond This Life Lyrics as written by John Petrucci John Myung
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
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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Wow, what a introspective and powerful song. This is much bigger than MP related. "Time races on. What will they say after you're gone". Love it