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.
Load up on guns, bring your friends
It's fun to lose and to pretend
She's over-bored and self assured
Oh no, I know a dirty word
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
Yeah, hey, yay
I'm worse at what I do best
And for this gift I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
Yeah, hey, yay
And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it's hard to find
Oh well, whatever, never mind
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
It's fun to lose and to pretend
She's over-bored and self assured
Oh no, I know a dirty word
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
Yeah, hey, yay
I'm worse at what I do best
And for this gift I feel blessed
Our little group has always been
And always will until the end
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
Yeah, hey, yay
And I forget just why I taste
Oh yeah, I guess it makes me smile
I found it hard, it's hard to find
Oh well, whatever, never mind
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello, how low
Hello, hello, hello
With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial
Lyrics submitted by spitfirek7, edited by bbaldwin50, stjimmyrocks92, LHGL, ELVIS PRESLEY BITE OF 87 XXXFREE, KookOcean
Smells Like Teen Spirit Lyrics as written by Krist Novoselic David Grohl
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
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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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This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
"Load up on guns, bring your friends it's fun to lose, and to pretend." Some people will do anything for the approval of so called "friends", even if it means forgetting who they are (were)
"She's over bored and self assured, oh no I know a dirty word." A lot of teenage girls (and boys) act all preppy to avoid noticing that they have their own problems to worry about, they think they're above everyone else (cheerleaders). Can you guess the dirty word? Here's a hint, it starts with a "b".
"Hello, hello, hello, how low?" How low will you stoop to make them like you?
"With the lights out, it's less dangerous." A lot of times when people get to a point where they just can't take it anymore, half of them wants to live and half of them wants to die. It's a very conflicting feeling and for a lot of people it's a terrifying experience because they're scared to talk to someone about it. The only time when they aren't fighting with themselves is when they're asleep.
"Here we are now, entertain us." When you're a freak show, it almost feels like the only reason you exist is for the entertainment of other, they get enjoyment out of watching other people suffer.
"I feel stupid and contagious." Sometimes it's hard to tell whether you're stupid or the people around you are stupid, so it's easiest to assume that everyone is stupid.
"A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido." People will talk about anything to avoid talking about being unhappy with their life.
"I'm worst at what I do best and for this gift I feel blessed." Again, conflicting feeling.
"Our little group has always been, and always will until the end." The false belief that friends from school will be with you for the rest of your life, when in reality they abandon you for the "cool kids" a few years after you meet them.
"And I forget just why I taste, oh yeah I guess it makes me smile." Sometimes nothing makes sense anymore. You start to think, "why does any of this matter? Humans are trivial, there's nothing to us, we simply are tiny little specks falling through the universe as we suck the life from our host, the Earth. Thinking about this causes a lack of motivation to do anything, but sometimes you do things just to forget what you already know, and it makes you laugh at yourself because of how stupid you feel. (Or if you actually manage to forget, you smile because you feel good.)
"I found it hard, it's hard to find, oh well, whatever, nevermind." The easiest thing to do is give up on life, not only is it easy, but a lot of times it feels like the right thing to do.
This is what the lyrics mean to me personally, I doubt that this is Kurt Cobain meant. There are probably about five people on the planet who know for sure what he meant. I'm an idiot so don't take anything I wrote seriously unless you actually agree with me. Sorry if anything I wrote sounds a bit insane (I'm kind of a freak sometimes)