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.
Now listen, Julie baby,
It ain't natural for you to cry in the midnight
It ain't natural for you to cry way into midnight through,
Until the wee small hours long 'fore the break of dawn,
Oh Lord, mhm
Now Julie, an' there ain't nothin' on my mind
More further 'way than what you're lookin' for
I seen it when you jumped at me, Lord, from behind the door
And looked into my eyes
Your little star struck innuendos
Inadequacies an' foreign bodies,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain, oh Lord
Ha, so open up the window and let me breathe
I said open up the window, shh shh shh shh shh and let me breathe
I'm looking down to the street below, Lord, I cried for you,
Ha ha, I cried, I cried for you, ha ha, oh, Lord
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
On your sick bed
I gotta go, I gotta go
And you said, "Please stay, I want to, I want to,
I want a drink of water, I want a drink of water,
Go in the kitchen get me a drink of water"
I said, "I gotta go, I gotta go, baby"
I said, "I'll send, I'll send somebody around here later
You know we got John comin' around here later
With a bottle of wine for you, baby, but I gotta go"
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room,
The cool room, Lord, Lord is a fool's room, a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets,
I can almost smell your T.B. sheets, T.B.
I gotta go, I gotta go
I'll send around, send around one that grumbles later on, babe
I'll see what I can pick up for you, you know
Yeah, I got a few things going, too
Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, don't worry
Uh huh, go, go, go, I've gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,
I gotta, all right, all right, huh huh huh
I turned on the radio,
And want to hear a few tunes, turn on the radio for you
There you go, there you go, there you go, baby, there you go, mm
You'll be all right, too, huh huh, ha ha, yeah
I know it ain't funny, it ain't funny at all, baby,
Laying in the cool room, man, laying in the cool room,
In the cool room, in the cool room
It ain't natural for you to cry in the midnight
It ain't natural for you to cry way into midnight through,
Until the wee small hours long 'fore the break of dawn,
Oh Lord, mhm
Now Julie, an' there ain't nothin' on my mind
More further 'way than what you're lookin' for
I seen it when you jumped at me, Lord, from behind the door
And looked into my eyes
Your little star struck innuendos
Inadequacies an' foreign bodies,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain,
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain, oh Lord
Ha, so open up the window and let me breathe
I said open up the window, shh shh shh shh shh and let me breathe
I'm looking down to the street below, Lord, I cried for you,
Ha ha, I cried, I cried for you, ha ha, oh, Lord
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
On your sick bed
I gotta go, I gotta go
And you said, "Please stay, I want to, I want to,
I want a drink of water, I want a drink of water,
Go in the kitchen get me a drink of water"
I said, "I gotta go, I gotta go, baby"
I said, "I'll send, I'll send somebody around here later
You know we got John comin' around here later
With a bottle of wine for you, baby, but I gotta go"
The cool room, Lord is a fool's room,
The cool room, Lord, Lord is a fool's room, a fool's room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets,
I can almost smell your T.B. sheets, T.B.
I gotta go, I gotta go
I'll send around, send around one that grumbles later on, babe
I'll see what I can pick up for you, you know
Yeah, I got a few things going, too
Don't worry about it, don't worry about it, don't worry
Uh huh, go, go, go, I've gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,
I gotta, all right, all right, huh huh huh
I turned on the radio,
And want to hear a few tunes, turn on the radio for you
There you go, there you go, there you go, baby, there you go, mm
You'll be all right, too, huh huh, ha ha, yeah
I know it ain't funny, it ain't funny at all, baby,
Laying in the cool room, man, laying in the cool room,
In the cool room, in the cool room
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira
TB Sheets Lyrics as written by John Lee Hooker
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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