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.
I wanna be on the front line, knotted up suit ties
Talking like a headstrong mamma
Got a picture in your wallet
Making me a habit, wearing your vintage t-shirt
Tied ribbons on your top hat
Telling me I'm all that, just like the girls from your hometown
Sweet blooded and I'm stranded, see
If I can stand it, shrinking in the shallow water
Magnetic everything about you
You really got me, now
You do it to me so well
Hypnotic taking over me
Make me feel like someone else
You got me talking in my sleep
I don't wanna come back down
I don't wanna touch the ground
Pacific Ocean, dug so deep
Hypnotic taking over me
White threads on my laces, stuck on the hinges
Swinging the door to the backyard
Cut splinters, walk a tightrope
Spun like a bandage touch on the outer surface
Bright eyes of the solstice wherever your mind is headed
For a freight train city
Locked up 'til you're moonlit
Brushing my hair back, feeling your lips on my cold neck
Magnetic everything about you
You really got me, now
You do it to me so well
Hypnotic taking over me
Make me feel like someone else
You got me talking in my sleep
I don't wanna come back down
I don't wanna touch the ground
Pacific Ocean, dug so deep
Hypnotic taking over me
Hypnotic taking over me
You do it to me so well
Hypnotic taking over me
Make me feel like someone else
You got me talking in my sleep
I don't wanna come back down
I don't wanna touch the ground
Pacific Ocean, dug so deep
Hypnotic taking over me
Hypnotic taking over me
Hypnotic taking over me
Talking like a headstrong mamma
Got a picture in your wallet
Making me a habit, wearing your vintage t-shirt
Tied ribbons on your top hat
Telling me I'm all that, just like the girls from your hometown
Sweet blooded and I'm stranded, see
If I can stand it, shrinking in the shallow water
Magnetic everything about you
You really got me, now
You do it to me so well
Hypnotic taking over me
Make me feel like someone else
You got me talking in my sleep
I don't wanna come back down
I don't wanna touch the ground
Pacific Ocean, dug so deep
Hypnotic taking over me
White threads on my laces, stuck on the hinges
Swinging the door to the backyard
Cut splinters, walk a tightrope
Spun like a bandage touch on the outer surface
Bright eyes of the solstice wherever your mind is headed
For a freight train city
Locked up 'til you're moonlit
Brushing my hair back, feeling your lips on my cold neck
Magnetic everything about you
You really got me, now
You do it to me so well
Hypnotic taking over me
Make me feel like someone else
You got me talking in my sleep
I don't wanna come back down
I don't wanna touch the ground
Pacific Ocean, dug so deep
Hypnotic taking over me
Hypnotic taking over me
You do it to me so well
Hypnotic taking over me
Make me feel like someone else
You got me talking in my sleep
I don't wanna come back down
I don't wanna touch the ground
Pacific Ocean, dug so deep
Hypnotic taking over me
Hypnotic taking over me
Hypnotic taking over me
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