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.
It was a rainy night the night the king went down
Everybody was crying it seemed like sadness had surrounded the town
Me I went to the liquor store
And I bought a bottle of wine and a bottle of gin
I played his records all night
Drinking with a close, close friend
Now some people say that that ain't right
And some people say nothing at all
But even in the darkest of night
You can always hear the king's call
You can always hear the king's call
Well they put him away in Memphis
Six feet beneath the clay
Everybody was crying
Everybody said it was a plain grey day
Me I went to the liquor store
And I bought another bottle of wine and another bottle of gin
I played his records all night
And I got drunk all over again
Now some people say that that ain't right
That ain't right
And some people say nothing at all
I say nothing
But even in the darkest of night
You could always hear the king's call
You could always hear the king's call
I wonder if you're lonesome tonight
And I'd rather go on hearing your lies
Than to go on living without you
Now some people say that that ain't right
And some people say nothing at all I say nothing
But even in the darkest of night
You could always hear the king's call
You could always hear the king's call
You could always hear the king's call
Now the stage is bare and I'm standing here
They might as well bring the curtain down
I cried the night the king died
Everybody was crying it seemed like sadness had surrounded the town
Me I went to the liquor store
And I bought a bottle of wine and a bottle of gin
I played his records all night
Drinking with a close, close friend
Now some people say that that ain't right
And some people say nothing at all
But even in the darkest of night
You can always hear the king's call
You can always hear the king's call
Well they put him away in Memphis
Six feet beneath the clay
Everybody was crying
Everybody said it was a plain grey day
Me I went to the liquor store
And I bought another bottle of wine and another bottle of gin
I played his records all night
And I got drunk all over again
Now some people say that that ain't right
That ain't right
And some people say nothing at all
I say nothing
But even in the darkest of night
You could always hear the king's call
You could always hear the king's call
I wonder if you're lonesome tonight
And I'd rather go on hearing your lies
Than to go on living without you
Now some people say that that ain't right
And some people say nothing at all I say nothing
But even in the darkest of night
You could always hear the king's call
You could always hear the king's call
You could always hear the king's call
Now the stage is bare and I'm standing here
They might as well bring the curtain down
I cried the night the king died
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
King's Call Lyrics as written by Philip Parris Lynott
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Love in a Vacuum
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Jesse with the long hair....
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Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
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The Spy
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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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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Fast Car
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"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
WOW! This is a wonderful song. The guitar from Dire Straits is featured on this tune and you can tell. I LOVE this song! May Elvis and Phillip forever live on in our hearts and in their music! ROCK ON!