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.
She doesn't look, she doesn't see
Opens up for nobody
Figures out, she figures out
Narrow line, she can't decide
Everything short of suicide
Never hurts, nearly works
Something scratching its way out
Something you want to forget about
A part of you that'll never show
You're the only one that'll ever know
Take it back when it all began
Take your time, would you understand
What it's all about?
Something scratching its way out
Something you want to forget about
No one expects you to get up
All on your own with no one around
Opens up for nobody
Figures out, she figures out
Narrow line, she can't decide
Everything short of suicide
Never hurts, nearly works
Something scratching its way out
Something you want to forget about
A part of you that'll never show
You're the only one that'll ever know
Take it back when it all began
Take your time, would you understand
What it's all about?
Something scratching its way out
Something you want to forget about
No one expects you to get up
All on your own with no one around
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Love in a Vacuum
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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.
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
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.
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
I'm pretty sure this song is about a girl who is seriously depressed. She feels alone, and "opens up for nobody".
"Take it back when it all began" - I think she's trying to figure out why she is the way she is and how she got there.
And also I think there is some references to cutting in there, such as "never hurts, nearly works" as in, it nearly helps to take away the hurt she feels inside and she doesnt seem to feel the physical pain from it
My interpretation of the song may be a little biased, but I've always thought the song was about a girl who was raped or sexually assaulted as a child and kept it secret. I was raped as a kid and the abuse continued for almost seven years before I told a cousin, who was like my big brother. This song was a song that I related to through those years. Each line made sense to me and it sort of related to the situation.
"She doesn't look, she doesn't see" Meaning that she didn't look when he was assaulting her. "Opens up for nobody" how she kept it a secret. "Figures out, she figures out" how she believes that it was her fault. "Narrow line, she can't decide" her debate whether or not to tell someone. "Everything short of suicide" cutting because of effects of the assault. "Never hurts, nearly works" the display she puts on to fool other people.
"Something is scratching its way out" how she almost tells people "Something you want to forget about" the assault.
"A part of you that you'll never show, you're the only one that'll ever know" meaning it's kept a secret. No one knows about what happened. "Take it back to when it all began" I always thought that was her remembering the assault, analyzing it, trying to understand what made this man choose her. "Take your time, would you understand what it's all about, what it's all about?" when she's telling someone and explaining why she's so broken and so depressed.
"Something is scratching its way out, something you want to forget about. No one expects you to get out." The aftermath of telling her story. She feels like people are ashamed of her and angry with her, blaming her for what happened whether its true or not. She believes they don't think she will ever get better. "All on your own with no one around" meaning that even after she tells the story, she still feels alone.
That's what this song means to me too, although I was raped as an adult. I can also see how the song can mean a lot of different things to different people. Beautiful song.
i am soo sorry:(
@definingme yes you couldn't have put it any better. I was sexually assaulted by my dads friend beginning at the age of 7 until I was a teenager and had the courage to stand up for myself. I listen to this song in my car, windows up and blast this song as a 30 year old women and sing this song from the pit of my stomach and cry for the scared little girl in me that was too afraid to confess this to my parents. My parents have been married for 32 years and i was afraid that if I told my father he would kill his friend and he would go to prison. I didnt want to break up our family because of me so I kept quiet. Now I have a daughter and would kill anyone who would try to sexually assault her. It brings pain but I love this song!
i really think this song is about cutting and how someone is stuggling with that. "never hurts nearly works" people who cut dont see it as pain they see it as letting out the hurt from the inside, or at least with my expeiriences that has been the case. "A part of you that wil never show, your the only one that will ever know" people try and hide their pain and get rid of it and i think this song explains what goes through people who cut when they're cutting, i also think the way that the song is up beat, to me almost angry sounding, i just think it explains cutting very well
i love the fray theres this guy whos my best friend and every song they sing somehow reminds me of that boy
this song is about a girl who just wants everything bad to be over she thinks that there is no other way other than suicide its really quite sad and makes me want to cry cause it just reminds of myself but then again it could different things for everyone who listens to this song let it mean what you want it to <3
I love the piano part. . . ah, the arpeggio. . . (I think I spelled that wrong). . .
I think that without knowing anything about the song I think this song could possibly be about an abortion. The whole "She opens up for nobody" could be about the after abortion effects that many people have. And the something inside of her could represent the baby or lack ther of and all that has happened......I dont know, just a thought
I agree with clarence . I can completley understand this song and it really stands out to me on the album. This song reminds me of a friend of mine when they were very depressed. I can see the abortion issue but this song is clearly about a very upset or depressed girl. She is regretting somthing and reflecting on how it happened and why. It bugs her and she needs to get it out and forget about it completly. She wants to rid herself of this monstor inside of her but she cant because she cannot trust anybody so she hurts herself somehow but she dosent feel the pain to its full extent.."never hurts, nearly works"
And everybody knows she is upset and nobody expects her to make it on her own, nobody expects her to get over this and she shut everybody out so she ends up all alone and even more depressed.
I love this song. alot.
I think this song is about a choice that someone made a while ago that's eating them up inside, and it will never go away. They did such a bad thing and they don't know what to do about it, that they consider suicide. possibly...
nice that i added that after 8 people talked about that. i just realized other people had posted on this song already.......
Swimminsusieq, Just Read Your Comment And Absolutely Agree =[ Very Hard To Listen To. _Send My Love