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’m left with no distinguishable features God, I barely even recognize myself
Why does my reflection look so distant? Why do I feel in a constant state of poor health?
It’s roughly 3 years since the doctors and I decided we’d take action so this disease wouldn’t spread
Every day when I’d look down, I’d be reminded that I’d retained my life, but lost both of my legs
At first I was content with these replacements. Stronger than I ever thought I’d be
But soon my self-esteem flipped to abasement when people gawked at my anomaly
NO NOT YOU…. YOU
Seems as though the sun stays out forever. I remember how that heat felt on my skin
Now all I feel is the occasional vibration through this system of sensors I’ve been set in.
They tried their best, but it just kept on spreading and within a month my arms were done as well
And as you’d guess, so was my entire torso, now I’m not much but a cold mechanic shell
I’ve never been afraid of not existing, it’s everyone around me that fears that.
But all I feel is my spirit resisting this second chance of permanence I have.
NO NOT YOU…. YOU
As I vaguely stare (with visual prosthesis) at an experiment not quite turned out as planned,
I’m left with no distinguishable features. God, I barely even recognize this man.
An hour ago, I went to see my doctors and they said something has spread into my brain.
Not the disease, no this was something different. When I asked what, they failed to fully explain.
A part of me interprets it familiar I guess it was just a matter of time.
A part of me says the other part’s inferior. Change my brain but will it change my mind?
NO NOT YOU…. YOU
Why does my reflection look so distant? Why do I feel in a constant state of poor health?
It’s roughly 3 years since the doctors and I decided we’d take action so this disease wouldn’t spread
Every day when I’d look down, I’d be reminded that I’d retained my life, but lost both of my legs
At first I was content with these replacements. Stronger than I ever thought I’d be
But soon my self-esteem flipped to abasement when people gawked at my anomaly
NO NOT YOU…. YOU
Seems as though the sun stays out forever. I remember how that heat felt on my skin
Now all I feel is the occasional vibration through this system of sensors I’ve been set in.
They tried their best, but it just kept on spreading and within a month my arms were done as well
And as you’d guess, so was my entire torso, now I’m not much but a cold mechanic shell
I’ve never been afraid of not existing, it’s everyone around me that fears that.
But all I feel is my spirit resisting this second chance of permanence I have.
NO NOT YOU…. YOU
As I vaguely stare (with visual prosthesis) at an experiment not quite turned out as planned,
I’m left with no distinguishable features. God, I barely even recognize this man.
An hour ago, I went to see my doctors and they said something has spread into my brain.
Not the disease, no this was something different. When I asked what, they failed to fully explain.
A part of me interprets it familiar I guess it was just a matter of time.
A part of me says the other part’s inferior. Change my brain but will it change my mind?
NO NOT YOU…. YOU
Lyrics submitted by sokorny
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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.
The album evolves around the struggle between machine and man, and this track seems to be that man is being replaced by a machine.
I however also get a sense of a metaphor being used. That is, they aren't literally losing their limbs but instead the disease (their mindset) is changing so drastically that it changing their whole view on the world (that is they are shedding their old self and being reborn anew). Hence why they don't recognise themselves anymore.