In the shadows of tall buildings
Of fallen angels on the ceilings
Oily feathers in bronze and concrete
Faded colors, pieces left incomplete
The line moves slowly past the electric fence
Across the borders between continents
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
There is a feeling that you should just go home
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
In the shadows of tall buildings
The architecture is slowly peeling
Marble statues and glass dividers
Someone is watching all of the outsiders
The line moves slowly through the numbered gate
Past the mosaic of the head of state
(chorus)
In the shadows of tall buildings
Of open arches endlessly kneeling
Sonic landscapes echoing vistas
Someone is listening from a safe distance
The line moves slowly into a fading light
A final moment in the dead of night
(chorus)
Of fallen angels on the ceilings
Oily feathers in bronze and concrete
Faded colors, pieces left incomplete
The line moves slowly past the electric fence
Across the borders between continents
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
There is a feeling that you should just go home
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
In the shadows of tall buildings
The architecture is slowly peeling
Marble statues and glass dividers
Someone is watching all of the outsiders
The line moves slowly through the numbered gate
Past the mosaic of the head of state
(chorus)
In the shadows of tall buildings
Of open arches endlessly kneeling
Sonic landscapes echoing vistas
Someone is listening from a safe distance
The line moves slowly into a fading light
A final moment in the dead of night
(chorus)
Lyrics submitted by fadingxthexkisses
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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.
Martha, I don't think that sounds stupid at all. It's one of the impressions I've always got from it too - nothing really coherent, but it always makes me want to write some sort of dystopian post-apocalyptic fic based on it. The lines about electric fences and the mosaic of the head of state and "someone is watching all of the outsiders" kind of add to that - it gives this sort of idea of some sort of [maybe collapsing] dictatorship. Adding in the fact that it's nominally at least about cathedrals, that could be how he feels religion is, but maybe not...
It does feel like it's about rebuilding/trying to find a life in a world where you don't know where you belong. That's the basic idea I get strongly from it, anything more is speculation.
Martha- Ametatsu-<br /> <br /> That is exactly my take on this song.<br /> <br /> It's post-war, post-apocalyptic disaster. People are segregated, separated by a fence, perhaps in war camps...almost like the plight of the Jews.<br /> <br /> As to the "Cathedrals" it represents how beautiful the buildings are and yet how cold they are and uncaring to the situation below. How we turn to the church to seek absolution and yet find none.<br /> <br /> Everyone just wants to go home...but there is no home anymore.<br /> <br />
@ametatsu <br /> Hello from 10 years in th future. To add to this, I've always imagined some sort of funeral procession possibly for an assassinated leader or 'head of state' even.
This is my first interpretation of a song on here, and I feel so moved by this when I hear it that my emotions flow and my thoughts are scattered. But I will give it my best shot. I see this song as lamenting the way that various governments, dictators, and groups have exploited religion. The references to electric fences, mosaic of the head of state, etc, remind me of the holocaust, and people being herded to whatever their ultimate destination may be just because of their religion. These great cathedrals that were once built to honor some divine power, are now symbolic of corruption, death. The individual detail that at one point was painstakingly created- the angels on the ceiling, the stone arches- now just parts of a building that is nothing more than a commodity to be used and abused however it may be convenient.
Cathedrals is one of the most beautiful and inspirational songs I have ever heard. I first listened to the song alone in a lab. Yes, a lab. And I believe this song was directed to people like me who are stuck in a hum-drum existence and often don't see the true beauty that exists in our own world, our own lives. I have lived in New York for a little over a year now, and it is quite amazing to see incredibly beautiful cathedrals like the St. Patrick's Cathedral or the Cathedral of St. John the Divine intermixed between tall skyscrapers and dirty streets. I have often sat in these two cathedrals, listening to "Cathedrals" and shedding tears. I not only marvel at the incredible beauty of the buildings, but I also think about where my place is in this world, where my home truly lies. Ironically, the music of this song is simple, though its meaning is poignant and very different for all who listen to it. This will always be one of my favorite songs.
ok, i know i sound likea perv, but when i listen to this song, its like, this song i could see myself making love to this song, i mean i loooooove this song and yes it is very soothing, but for some reason everytime i lsiten to it, i think of a couple making love, not even having sex, caseu its jsut so beautiful that its making love. i lvoe it!!!!!!!!
I have moved around the world my entire life and this song truly sums up the feeling of searching. When you are in any of the Cathedrals of the world you get the same feeling, regardless of your faith, you know that there is something out there bigger than you are. Not necessarily God or the infinite Universe, but even with in humanity there is something beyond your understanding and you can spend your life finding it. This is by far one of the greatest songs ever written.
okay maybe this sounds stupid...but whenever i hear this song i think about like the world how it would be after a huge war...like, all that's left is a rubble, and people don;t know what to do so they go to God in the cathedrals, and they don't really find him there...so they just try to go home, but everything is gone so they don't know where there home is anymore. i think this song is about rebuilding your life.
I created this account just to say this about this song.
This song speaks to me like no other song does. The song serenades about texture, landscape, scale. The dead weight of marble statues and glass dividers. The essence of spirits in a building. The unending nature of us: the living creatures and the dead material products, continuously developing. We age together with the building, and yet they are dead. We can only feel the space. They are grand, at the same time hollow. Penetrable, at the same impenetrable.
I imagine us living creatures are living in coexistence with dead physical products, such as buildings. The only thing that connects us is space.
Sorry if all this sounds like gibberish. I am an architect.
@meal love this interpretation. I also created an account just to write a comment for this song! Haha. Moves me on many levels
Not sure how someone can listen to this song and come away feeling positively inspired... the song exudes beautiful hopelessness. The lyrics speak clearly of a Orwellian dystopia where freedom of movement is restricted ("...the electric fence/across the borders between continents"), clandestine surveillance is commonplace ("someone is listening from a safe distance") and a cult of personality surrounding a totalitarian leader is pervasive ("...past the mosaic of the head of state"). The chorus suggests the final abandonment of faith among the religious, which has historically been the last refuge of hope for the truly hopeless. The last lines before the final chorus drive the point home; the once-peaceful world within this song is in its death throes, humanity's evil elements have won out, and any hope of rebuilding is long gone. This tenor is particularly hammered home in Joan Osborne's cover on her 2008 album "Little Wild One." Both the original and that cover are hauntingly beautiful, and if you can listen to it and find inspiration, more power to you. As for me, if I were on Zoloft, I'd definitely take this track off of my iPod.
anybody know the true meaning behind these lyrics? this is a great song, one of my favorite ever =]
i'm not sure of the true meaning of this song, but i know it's completely beautiful, and i love the song and the band. it seems like such a sad little song, but i think it has some hope there as well.