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.
Too much of nothing
Can make a man ill at ease
One man's temper rises
Where another man's temper might freeze
Now it's a day of confession
And we cannot mock a soul
Oh, when there's too much of nothing
No one has control
Say hello to Valerie
Say hello to Vivian
Give her all my salary
On the waters of oblivion
When there's too much of nothing
Can cause a man to weep
He can walk the streets and like most and boast
Of what he'd like to keep
But it's all been done before
It's all been written in the book
And when there's too much of nothing
Nobody should look
Say hello to Valerie
Say hello to Vivian
Give her all my salary
On the waters of oblivion
Now too much of nothing
Can make a man a liar
It can cause some men to sleep on nails
It can cause others to eat fire
Everybody's doin' somethin'
I've heard it in a dream
But when there's too much of nothing
It just makes a fella mean
Say hello to Valerie
Say hello to Vivian
Give her all my salary
On the waters of oblivion
Can make a man ill at ease
One man's temper rises
Where another man's temper might freeze
Now it's a day of confession
And we cannot mock a soul
Oh, when there's too much of nothing
No one has control
Say hello to Valerie
Say hello to Vivian
Give her all my salary
On the waters of oblivion
When there's too much of nothing
Can cause a man to weep
He can walk the streets and like most and boast
Of what he'd like to keep
But it's all been done before
It's all been written in the book
And when there's too much of nothing
Nobody should look
Say hello to Valerie
Say hello to Vivian
Give her all my salary
On the waters of oblivion
Now too much of nothing
Can make a man a liar
It can cause some men to sleep on nails
It can cause others to eat fire
Everybody's doin' somethin'
I've heard it in a dream
But when there's too much of nothing
It just makes a fella mean
Say hello to Valerie
Say hello to Vivian
Give her all my salary
On the waters of oblivion
Lyrics submitted by Philadelphia Eagles, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Too Much of Nothing Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Love in a Vacuum
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To me... it's a cautionary song about a nihilistic strain that was particularly evident at the time. It's about ignoring the heart in relationships human and devine. It seems to be one of Dylan's recurrent themes.
Poverty of the soul, maybe.