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.
You are:
Eighteen year-old girl
Who live in small city of Japan
And you heard me on the radio
About one year ago
And you wanted to know
All about me
And my hobbies
My favorite food
And my birthday
Why are you so far away from me?
I need help
And you're way across the sea
I could never touch you
I think it would be wrong
I've got your letter
You've got my song
They don't make stationery like this where I'm from
So fragile, so refined
So I sniff and I lick your envelope
And fall to little pieces
Every time I wonder:
What clothes you wear to school
I wonder how you decorate your room
I wonder how you touch yourself
And curse myself for being across the sea
At 10, I shaved my head
And tried to be a monk
I thought the older women would like me if I did
You see, ma
I'm a good little boy
It's all your fault, momma
It's all your fault!
Goddamn, this business is really lame
I gotta live on an island to find the juice
So you send me your love from all around the world
As if I could live on
Words and dreams and a million screams
Oh, how I need a hand in mine to feel...
Eighteen year-old girl
Who live in small city of Japan
And you heard me on the radio
About one year ago
And you wanted to know
All about me
And my hobbies
My favorite food
And my birthday
Why are you so far away from me?
I need help
And you're way across the sea
I could never touch you
I think it would be wrong
I've got your letter
You've got my song
They don't make stationery like this where I'm from
So fragile, so refined
So I sniff and I lick your envelope
And fall to little pieces
Every time I wonder:
What clothes you wear to school
I wonder how you decorate your room
I wonder how you touch yourself
And curse myself for being across the sea
At 10, I shaved my head
And tried to be a monk
I thought the older women would like me if I did
You see, ma
I'm a good little boy
It's all your fault, momma
It's all your fault!
Goddamn, this business is really lame
I gotta live on an island to find the juice
So you send me your love from all around the world
As if I could live on
Words and dreams and a million screams
Oh, how I need a hand in mine to feel...
Lyrics submitted by oofus
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"You are 18 year old girl Who live in small city of Japan and you heard me on the radio About one year ago"
Pretty straightforward.
"And you wanted to know All about me and my hobbies My favorite food and my birthday"
Obviously she is extremely interested in his life. The way he says it in a matter-of-factly kind of way makes it seem like he hasn't had many people this interested in what he does, despite him being a rockstar. but this seems strange, because he IS a rockstar, so he must just be picking this one girl out among the many. most likely because she is a japanese girl.
"Why are you so far away from me? I need help and you're way across the sea"
He feels very isolated from her, lonely, helpless, she seems to be the only person who can do anything for him, even though he's never met her or anything.
"I could never touch you I think it would be wrong"
He doesn't feel as if he is good enough for this girl, as if she is something very special.
"I've got your letter You've got my song"
It seems he's come to the conclusion that because this relationship won't go any further, he's just leaving it at the exchange of a letter for a song. once again, a song takes a lot more work to write than a letter, so he must think he has to make up for not being good enough for the girl.
"They don't make stationery like this where I'm from So fragile so refined"
Once again, she is put out as something special, being far away, and yet the only one able to help him.
"So I sniff and I lick your envelope And fall to little pieces every time"
He's become obsessive because he can't do anything to get closer to her, and it's killing him.
"I wonder what clothes you wear to school I wonder how you decorate your room I wonder how you touch yourself And curse myself for being across the sea"
He starts to fantasize about this girl, almost seeming to think its his dream girl, obsessing even more, and once he hits the sexual fantasy he kinda bangs his fist on the table and curses himself for not being able to see her or anything. [insert chorus again]
"At 10 I shaved my head and tried to be a monk I thought the older women would like me if I did"
This line seems a bit out of place in the song. I think he just was getting so confessional and pained that he decided "ehh i'll just talk about this too." but it does relate in that he is talking about what he has gone through in the past just to get the attention of girls. yet we get the idea that they dont seem to notice him anyways. and in the next line...
"You see, ma, I'm a good little boy It's all your fault, momma, it's all your fault"
He tries to reassure his mother that he IS a good boy. when he says its all her fault, i think he means his failure with relationships is her fault. he was raised in a family that was isolated from the rest of the world and had a very jaded perspective on life. this must have had a huge effect on how his future relationships played out.
"Goddamn, this business is really lame! I gotta live on an island to find the juice"
mmm... honestly, if those are the real lyrics, i dont know what the hell he's talking about there.
"So you send me your love from all around the world As if I could live on Words and dreams and a million screams On how I need a hand in mine, to feel"
some of the best lines rivers has written thats been released to the public, imo. now he seems to be placing the blame on the girl, almost wishing she had never sent the letter, because he CAN'T just live on "words and dreams and a million screams." he needs a hand in his hand, something real, something there. but he won't get it, so he just has to settle for her letter and she has to settle for his song.
great song.