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.
So, my good friend
Your super drug ends
I go up to the stratosphere
Brain fry day glow
Holy water for your soul
And I'll wake up in the U.S.a
You know we gonna ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died on the blue highway, hey-hey
Oh, the sons from Mars
On their stolen guitars
Out to ride the night
Soul sisters, soul hitter
I hear you and I miss you
Co-starring in the U.S.a
You know we gotta ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died on a blue highway, hey-hey
Why do I miss you?
Why did I kiss you, because
You know we gotta ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died
So glad that you're living now
I'm glad that you're here
I'm glad that you want to stay, because
You know we gotta ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died on a blue highway, hey-hey
On a blue highway
Singing, singing
Quaaludes and red wine for love
Yes, there's a time, a time for love
Can you kiss me on a blue highway, hey-hey
Why do I miss you?
How do I kiss you?
Your super drug ends
I go up to the stratosphere
Brain fry day glow
Holy water for your soul
And I'll wake up in the U.S.a
You know we gonna ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died on the blue highway, hey-hey
Oh, the sons from Mars
On their stolen guitars
Out to ride the night
Soul sisters, soul hitter
I hear you and I miss you
Co-starring in the U.S.a
You know we gotta ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died on a blue highway, hey-hey
Why do I miss you?
Why did I kiss you, because
You know we gotta ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died
So glad that you're living now
I'm glad that you're here
I'm glad that you want to stay, because
You know we gotta ride on the blue highway
Walk with electro glide on the blue highway
Wave below to Christ on my highway
Yes, I almost died on a blue highway, hey-hey
On a blue highway
Singing, singing
Quaaludes and red wine for love
Yes, there's a time, a time for love
Can you kiss me on a blue highway, hey-hey
Why do I miss you?
How do I kiss you?
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i love this song. its too hard to understand what it means. maybe he only wrote it for himself to understand?
i am a huge billy idol fan. hes amazin. i love eighties music & rock as a whole but billy idol is the best. i love this song. like Only Emo said this song is kind of hard to figure out but if i would have to guess its about him almost diein a couple of times and hes on the blue highway. something like that. i dnt know lmao not sure
he almost died in a motorcycle accident in the mid 90's right before charmed life cameout..and he still did his tour and produced a really good album..i pritty sure the gist of it is about that
@tothisbeat The song came out 7years before his motorcycle accident. I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with that.
Blue Highway is slang for mainlining drugs.