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.
It seems so long ago
Nancy was alone
Looking at the Late Late show
Through a semi-precious stone
In the House of Honesty
Her father was on trial
In the House of Mystery
There was no one at all
There was no one at all
It seems so long ago
None of us were strong
Nancy wore green stockings
And she slept with everyone
She never said she'd wait for us
Although she was alone
I think she fell in love for us
In nineteen sixty one
In nineteen sixty one
It seems so long ago
Nancy was alone
A forty five beside her head
An open telephone
We told her she was beautiful
We told her she was free
But none of us would meet her in
The House of Mystery
The House of Mystery
And now you look around you
See her everywhere
Many use her body
Many comb her hair
In the hollow of the night
When you are cold and numb
You hear her talking freely then
She's happy that you've come
She's happy that you've come
Nancy was alone
Looking at the Late Late show
Through a semi-precious stone
In the House of Honesty
Her father was on trial
In the House of Mystery
There was no one at all
There was no one at all
It seems so long ago
None of us were strong
Nancy wore green stockings
And she slept with everyone
She never said she'd wait for us
Although she was alone
I think she fell in love for us
In nineteen sixty one
In nineteen sixty one
It seems so long ago
Nancy was alone
A forty five beside her head
An open telephone
We told her she was beautiful
We told her she was free
But none of us would meet her in
The House of Mystery
The House of Mystery
And now you look around you
See her everywhere
Many use her body
Many comb her hair
In the hollow of the night
When you are cold and numb
You hear her talking freely then
She's happy that you've come
She's happy that you've come
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Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
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.
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.
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
I believe I read about Mr. Cohen's friend who killed herself, so I think most of the song can be about her and Leonard's reflections on her.
When I first heard this song, it sounded a lot like a female acquaintance of mine, who was later diagnosed with Bipolar disorder (manic depression) and I believe she had histrionic personality disorder as well.
Histrionic personality disorder with mania: We've all met these girls or crossed their paths at one time. They make you feel that you're the most intelligent, insightful and desirable person on the planet, and they even take it right to the bedroom with you. Then they find the next man and repeat the process. This is not sustainable. If the pattern isn't broken, and left untreated, suicide is very common. ("many of you use her body...", but then she ends up alone, with no one calling, when she really needs it) I agree that the "father on trial" bit is a bit ambiguous, but some kind of molestation or early damaging manipulation seems reasonable.