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)
Don't look ahead, there's stormy weather (oh)
Another roadblock in our way (ohh-oh)
But if we go, we go together (oh)
Our hands are tied here if we stay (ohh-oh)
Oh, we said our dreams will carry us
And if they don't fly we'll run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh, how to win what they all lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for (oh)
So let them say we can't do better (oh)
Lay out the rules that we can't break (ohh-oh)
They want to sit and watch it wither (oh)
Their legacy's too hard to take (ohh-oh)
Oh, we said our dreams will carry us
And if they don't fly we'll run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh, how to win what they all lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
In their heads, hedging their bets
In their eyes it shows
When the beacon breaks well then
You ask and they don't know
Oh tell me that
I turn my back well the odds all stand beneath me
And they all said I was mislead
The odds all stand beneath me
Oh ah, oh ah
They're frozen to the core
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh, we said our dreams will carry us
And if they don't fly we will run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh, how to win what they all lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
(Oh, oh)
We hear that rumble don't hear what you say
Now here we come can't throw nothing in our way
We hear that rumble don't hear what you say
Now here we come can't throw nothing in our way, ay-yo
(Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh)
Ay-yo
Ay-yo (oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh)
Ay-yo
Don't look ahead, there's stormy weather (oh)
Another roadblock in our way (ohh-oh)
But if we go, we go together (oh)
Our hands are tied here if we stay (ohh-oh)
Oh, we said our dreams will carry us
And if they don't fly we'll run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh, how to win what they all lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for (oh)
So let them say we can't do better (oh)
Lay out the rules that we can't break (ohh-oh)
They want to sit and watch it wither (oh)
Their legacy's too hard to take (ohh-oh)
Oh, we said our dreams will carry us
And if they don't fly we'll run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh, how to win what they all lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
In their heads, hedging their bets
In their eyes it shows
When the beacon breaks well then
You ask and they don't know
Oh tell me that
I turn my back well the odds all stand beneath me
And they all said I was mislead
The odds all stand beneath me
Oh ah, oh ah
They're frozen to the core
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh, we said our dreams will carry us
And if they don't fly we will run
Now we push right past to find out
Oh, how to win what they all lost
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
Oh ah, oh ah
We know now we want more
Oh ah, oh ah
A life worth fighting for
(Oh, oh)
We hear that rumble don't hear what you say
Now here we come can't throw nothing in our way
We hear that rumble don't hear what you say
Now here we come can't throw nothing in our way, ay-yo
(Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh)
Ay-yo
Ay-yo (oh, oh, oh-oh-oh-oh)
Ay-yo
Lyrics submitted by FallenFruit, edited by Jango, aidanjtpck, ZillaLee, louis10899
Disparate Youth Lyrics as written by Ricardo Johnson Nicholas Zinner
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
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Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"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.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Actually, I thinks it's bets and not beds.