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.
Starry starry night paint your palette blue and gray look out
On a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my
Soul shadows on the hills sketch the trees and
Daffodils catch the breeze and the winter chills in
Colors on the snowy linen land
Now I understand what you tried to say to me and how you
Suffered for your sanity and how you tried to set them
Free they would not listen they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
Starry starry night portraits hung in empty halls frameless
Heads in nameless walls with eyes that watch the world
And can't forget like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes the silver thorn a bloody
Rose lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me and how you
Suffered for your sanity and how you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still perhaps
They never will
For they could not love you but still your love was true and
When no hope was left inside on that starry starry
Night you took your life as lovers often do
But I could've told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you
On a summer's day with eyes that know the darkness in my
Soul shadows on the hills sketch the trees and
Daffodils catch the breeze and the winter chills in
Colors on the snowy linen land
Now I understand what you tried to say to me and how you
Suffered for your sanity and how you tried to set them
Free they would not listen they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now
Starry starry night portraits hung in empty halls frameless
Heads in nameless walls with eyes that watch the world
And can't forget like the strangers that you've met
The ragged men in ragged clothes the silver thorn a bloody
Rose lie crushed and broken on the virgin snow
Now I think I know what you tried to say to me and how you
Suffered for your sanity and how you tried to set them free
They would not listen they're not listening still perhaps
They never will
For they could not love you but still your love was true and
When no hope was left inside on that starry starry
Night you took your life as lovers often do
But I could've told you, Vincent
This world was never meant for one as beautiful as you
Lyrics submitted by AtomicGarden
Vincent Lyrics as written by Don Mclean
Lyrics © CONSALAD CO., Ltd., Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
Step
Ministry
Ministry
Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Fast Car
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
Oh yeah, the cover came out alright as well.