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.
Mirror, mirror on the wall
The face you've shown me scares me so
I thought that I could call your bluff
But now the lines are clear enough
Life's not pretty even though
I've tried so hard to make it so
Mornings are such cold distress
How did I ever get into this mess
Now I'm snowblind, can't live without you (uh uh)
'Cause so fine I just can't get away (uh uh)
Yes I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Harmless and innocent you devil in white
You stole my will without a fight
You filled me with confidence, but you blinded my eyes
You tricked me with visions of paradise
Now I realize I'm
Snowblind, can't live without you
'Cause so fine I just can't get away
Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Uh uh
Uh uh ah ah
Hey maybe I'm snowblind, can't live without you
'Cause so fine I just can't get away
Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Mirror, mirror I confess
I can't escape this emptiness
No more reason to pretend
Here comes that same old feeling again
Yes, I'm snowblind, can't live without you
'Cause so fine I just can't get away
Won't you throw me a lifeline
I'm going down for the third time
'Cause I'm snowblind, and I can't get away
Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah, ah ah ah
The face you've shown me scares me so
I thought that I could call your bluff
But now the lines are clear enough
Life's not pretty even though
I've tried so hard to make it so
Mornings are such cold distress
How did I ever get into this mess
Now I'm snowblind, can't live without you (uh uh)
'Cause so fine I just can't get away (uh uh)
Yes I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Harmless and innocent you devil in white
You stole my will without a fight
You filled me with confidence, but you blinded my eyes
You tricked me with visions of paradise
Now I realize I'm
Snowblind, can't live without you
'Cause so fine I just can't get away
Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Uh uh
Uh uh ah ah
Hey maybe I'm snowblind, can't live without you
'Cause so fine I just can't get away
Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Mirror, mirror I confess
I can't escape this emptiness
No more reason to pretend
Here comes that same old feeling again
Yes, I'm snowblind, can't live without you
'Cause so fine I just can't get away
Won't you throw me a lifeline
I'm going down for the third time
'Cause I'm snowblind, and I can't get away
Yes, I'm snowblind, snowblind, snowblind
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah
Ah ah ah, ah ah ah
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In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
I think this song is obviously about cocaine addiction.Though styx aren't among my fav bands,i couldn't help but liking this song,and the deep meanings it seems to contain.It's about a cocaine addict who knows that he's destroying his life,but somehow can't manage to stop it.The WHITE DEVIL gave him the CONFIDENCE he lacked while he was clean(cocaine does that)but also stole his will,his strength,his ability to tell the difference between what's right and what's surely wrong. this song just sticks to your brain when you hear it over and over again
Even from 11yrs old, I never until now considered cocaine addiction. But I agree now, it is obvious.
A: This song is obviously about someone's fight to get off of cocoaine (probably the fight of the writer or writers). Remember the lines "Cant live without you" and "You devil in WHITE."
B: There was once a small sect of people who believed this song witheld satanic messages, audible when the song is played in reverse. This is absolutely UNTRUE and has been denied by the members of Styx many a time. In addition, the only backwards message I know of Styx inserting into a song is the very obvious reversal of Annuit Cœptis Novus Ordo Seclorum in the beginning of Heavy Metal Poisoning. This, contrary to the satanic facade that up-tight rock haters have given Styx means "God has been with us through our undertakings." Kinda cool.
holy buddha, way to think outside the box OS. I never would have thought that it was about a cocaine addiction. You're probably right because when you're on cocaine it sometimes causes you to lose your sight. Snowblind.
I concur with OS Was Here. Any song that has the words "mirror," "lines" and "snow" can only be about one thing. Still, it's JY's best vocal, and the bum-bum-bum at the end is eerie and awesome.
Dude...why do people think everything's about cocaine? ANd the hidden messages were false, a least according to the book "The Odd Index"
Actually...is or was JY a cocaine addict? I
Primarily - This song is about cocaine addiction... Secondarily - This song is about addiction...
THE ONLY MEMBER OF STYX TO BE HOOKED ON DRUGS WAS JOHN PANAZZO!!!! AND HE WASN'T EVEN HOOKED ON COCAINE!!! HE WAS HOOKED ON BARBUTUATES!!! get your facts straight... besides, I'd think it would be obvious if one of them were on cocaine. Though it may be about addiciton, none of the writers were on cocaine.
Tommy Shaw was addicted to cocaine, and this song is about how he suffered through it.
"Snowblind" was written in 1980 by Dennis DeYoung and James Young as an anti-cocaine song. They were having trouble with the lyrics, and asked Tommy Shaw to contribute some, which he did: from the addict's point of view. The verses he sang are the ones he wrote.
As for drummer John Panozzo being an addict, he did like to party (and did often with Tommy), but alcohol was his weakness, culminating in his death in 1996. Tommy was addicted to cocaine and alcohol, but got clean by the late 80s, and has been sober ever since.