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.
I tried so hard to be her day
But the night has already taken me away
Shedding dreams under the maple tree
Where I carved your name
Nothing left, not even time
Straight reads the line
His life had reached the end
Wanting only to be loved by adrienne
Letters explained his grief
But she would never read
His wrists would bleed
But she would never see
So he took his life at the age of 23
And she had always loved him
Be he would never know
For she covered her love
Like stars cover the sky
Hiding her heart
Fearing what he would find inside
Years took her away
A widow she remained
Holding him deep inside
Wishing she too would die
Time favors no one and if we wait
We too can fall in love
A second too late
But the night has already taken me away
Shedding dreams under the maple tree
Where I carved your name
Nothing left, not even time
Straight reads the line
His life had reached the end
Wanting only to be loved by adrienne
Letters explained his grief
But she would never read
His wrists would bleed
But she would never see
So he took his life at the age of 23
And she had always loved him
Be he would never know
For she covered her love
Like stars cover the sky
Hiding her heart
Fearing what he would find inside
Years took her away
A widow she remained
Holding him deep inside
Wishing she too would die
Time favors no one and if we wait
We too can fall in love
A second too late
Lyrics submitted by dying_legend
A Message for Adrienne Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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?
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The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
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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.
dallas said this song was about a girl he loved who decided to fall in love with a drug addict instead of him and then he commited suicide or something... so sad.
gotta love this
this song rawks
these lyrics come straight from the heart. with so much meaning. so much pain...so much hurt. such a great writer. such a great band.
To me, this is a song about a guy who is in love with this woman named Adrienne. Adrienne loves him back, but she has never told him that in fear of him knowing what is "inside". The guy suffers through all this pain because he thinks Adrienne doesn't love him and finally he kills himself. At the end It just talks about how Adrienne did love him and that she suffers everyday and wishes that she would die also.
I totally agree Dude.....
Oh my gosh, I just downloaded the song, its amazing! These guys put so much emotion into their lyrics, and I have never seen a band to do that as good as these guys can.
uh, TheLordsmessenger, have you ever heard of Something Corporate? no, hmmm. DL Konstantine man
mmm this song owns me.
this song takes my breath away, very powerful, full of love....
incredible song.. does anyone know what that sound is like maybe a quarter of the way through the song?