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.
Well I moved into this room
If you could call it that, a week ago
I never do what I'm supposed to do
Hardly even know my name anymore
When no one calls it out, kinda vanishes away
And I can't get to sleep at night
The parking lot's so loud and bright
The A/C Hasn't worked in twenty years
Probably never made a single person cold
But I can't say the same for me
I've done it many times
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
You can't drive through Talladega on a weekend in October
Just head up north to Jacksonville
Cut around and over
Watch your speed in Boiling Springs
They ain't got a thing to do
They'll get you every time
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
If we pass through on a Sunday
Better make a stop at Wayne's
It's the only open liquor store north
And I can't stand the pain
Of being by myself, without a little help
On a Sunday afternoon
Well I needed that damn woman like a dream needs gasoline
And I tried to be some ancient kind of man
One that's never seen the beauty in the world
But I tried to chase it down
Tried to make the whole thing mine
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
I've been stuck here in this town
If you could call it that, a year or two
I never do what I'm supposed to do
I don't even need a name anymore
When no one calls it out, it kinda vanishes away
No one gives a damn about the things I give a damn about
The liberties that we can't do without seem to disappear
Like ghosts in the air
When we don't even care, it truly vanishes away
If you could call it that, a week ago
I never do what I'm supposed to do
Hardly even know my name anymore
When no one calls it out, kinda vanishes away
And I can't get to sleep at night
The parking lot's so loud and bright
The A/C Hasn't worked in twenty years
Probably never made a single person cold
But I can't say the same for me
I've done it many times
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
You can't drive through Talladega on a weekend in October
Just head up north to Jacksonville
Cut around and over
Watch your speed in Boiling Springs
They ain't got a thing to do
They'll get you every time
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
If we pass through on a Sunday
Better make a stop at Wayne's
It's the only open liquor store north
And I can't stand the pain
Of being by myself, without a little help
On a Sunday afternoon
Well I needed that damn woman like a dream needs gasoline
And I tried to be some ancient kind of man
One that's never seen the beauty in the world
But I tried to chase it down
Tried to make the whole thing mine
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Somebody take me home, through those Alabama pines
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh
I've been stuck here in this town
If you could call it that, a year or two
I never do what I'm supposed to do
I don't even need a name anymore
When no one calls it out, it kinda vanishes away
No one gives a damn about the things I give a damn about
The liberties that we can't do without seem to disappear
Like ghosts in the air
When we don't even care, it truly vanishes away
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Alabama Pines Lyrics as written by Jason Isbell
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I'm the only one commenting on this song. But Jason if you ever read this you're not the only one.
nytimes.com/2013/12/17/us/politics/federal-judge-rules-against-nsa-phone-data-program.html