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.
Want to tell you about the girl I love
My she looks so fine
She's the only one that I been dreamin' of
Maybe someday she will be all mine
I want to tell her that I love her so
I thrill with her every touch
I need to tell her she's the only one I really love
I got a woman, want to bawl all day
I got a woman, she won't be true, no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said I got a little woman and she won't be true
Sunday morning when we go down to church
See the menfolk standin' in line
I said they come to pray to the Lord
With my little girl, looks so fine
In the evening when the sun is sinkin' low
Everybody's with the one they love
I walk the town, keep a-searchin' all around
Lookin' for my street corner girl
I got a woman, want to bawl all day
I got a woman, she won't be true, no no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said I got a little woman and she won't be true
In the bars, with the men who play guitars
Singin', drinkin' and rememberin' the times
My little lover does a midnight shift
She followed around all the time
I guess there's just one thing a-left for me to do
Gonna pack my bags and move on my way
'Cause I got a worried mind sharin' what I thought was mine
Gonna leave her where the guitars play
I got a woman, she won't be true, no no
I got a woman, want to bawl all day, yeah, yeah
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I got a little woman and she won't be true
(Hey hey what can I do) I said she won't be true
No, yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah (hey, hey, what can I say?)
Ah (hey hey, what can I do) keep on, keep on
(No, no, what can I say?) she won't
Keep on, keep on (hey, hey, what can I do?)
(No, no, what can I say?)
(Hey, hey, what can I do?)
(No, no, what can I say?) hey, hey what can I do, I got a women she won't be true
(Hey, hey, what can I do?) oh oh hear what I said I got a woman wanna bawl all day
(No, no, what can I say?) keep on keep on
(Hey, hey, what can I do?)
My she looks so fine
She's the only one that I been dreamin' of
Maybe someday she will be all mine
I want to tell her that I love her so
I thrill with her every touch
I need to tell her she's the only one I really love
I got a woman, want to bawl all day
I got a woman, she won't be true, no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said I got a little woman and she won't be true
Sunday morning when we go down to church
See the menfolk standin' in line
I said they come to pray to the Lord
With my little girl, looks so fine
In the evening when the sun is sinkin' low
Everybody's with the one they love
I walk the town, keep a-searchin' all around
Lookin' for my street corner girl
I got a woman, want to bawl all day
I got a woman, she won't be true, no no
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I said I got a little woman and she won't be true
In the bars, with the men who play guitars
Singin', drinkin' and rememberin' the times
My little lover does a midnight shift
She followed around all the time
I guess there's just one thing a-left for me to do
Gonna pack my bags and move on my way
'Cause I got a worried mind sharin' what I thought was mine
Gonna leave her where the guitars play
I got a woman, she won't be true, no no
I got a woman, want to bawl all day, yeah, yeah
I got a woman, stay drunk all the time
I got a little woman and she won't be true
(Hey hey what can I do) I said she won't be true
No, yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah, no, yeah (hey, hey, what can I say?)
Ah (hey hey, what can I do) keep on, keep on
(No, no, what can I say?) she won't
Keep on, keep on (hey, hey, what can I do?)
(No, no, what can I say?)
(Hey, hey, what can I do?)
(No, no, what can I say?) hey, hey what can I do, I got a women she won't be true
(Hey, hey, what can I do?) oh oh hear what I said I got a woman wanna bawl all day
(No, no, what can I say?) keep on keep on
(Hey, hey, what can I do?)
Lyrics submitted by kevin, edited by thelance1997
Hey Hey What Can I Do Lyrics as written by John Paul Jones John Bonham
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Jesse with the long hair....
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Robert Earl Keen, Jr.
Classic love story true to his western tx roots. One of my favorites as a story, but I think there are alot of songs that are amazing not even listed on this site. I guess I should figure out how to add them, because I have about 8 REK cd's.
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
Thursday
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.
Yeah, she's not a hooker; she just sleeps around on him. "Street corner girl" and "midnight shift" are meant as insults towards her; he's not saying she's an actual hooker.
"In the bars, with the men who play guitars/Singin', drinkin' and rememberin' the times" means she goes out and has a good time with other guys.
In the 2nd verse, the words are actually "Don't say they come to pray to the lord, not when my little girl looks so fine."
That verse is figurative—it's not about actually going to church, but about how she acts innocent when she's with him. He sees all the attention she gets from other guys, and she acts like they're just being friendly, but he doesn't buy it.
t4r pretty much is correct about the meaning of this song; she is not a hooker/prostitute but, she is a slut/party girl that wants to party all the time with other men and get balled all day. balling/balled/ball back in the day when this song was written was slang for fucing.<br /> <br /> In the song; he finally realizes that the promiscuous good time party girl is not going to change her ways and be with him only because she loves to party and get balled/fucked by other men o much, so he leaves.
@t4r - Thank You dude!. Thumbs Upon on your 4th last paragraph point. I want<br /> to post this song for my 'sweet, pretty, cute lil Girlfiend very much wife - whom<br /> passed sudden this past March. The street corner girl paused me to post the You<br /> Tube Lyric song to her pic or alone in my Facebook (Joel Ahava)...cause all his <br /> LOVE and LIL Woman is all me toward my loved one ;( (tears). Thanks dude<br /> pic or alone