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.
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Well, nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
I'm never coming back
They heard him cry
And I believe him
Well he never meant to do anything wrong
It's gonna get worse if he waits too long
Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh no
Searching through the day and into the night
They wouldn't stop 'til they found him
They didn't know him and they didn't understand
They never asked him why
"Get out of my way"
They heard him shout
Then a blinding light
Ooh all I could see was him running down the street
Out of the shadows and into the night
Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Don't give up
Keep running, keep hiding
Don't give up
Billy, if you know you're right
Don't give up
You know that I am on your side
Don't give up
Oh Billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
"I'm never coming back"
They heard him cry
And I believe him
He never meant to do anything wrong
It's gonna get worse if he waits too long
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you
Shadows were on the ground
Well, nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
I'm never coming back
They heard him cry
And I believe him
Well he never meant to do anything wrong
It's gonna get worse if he waits too long
Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh no
Searching through the day and into the night
They wouldn't stop 'til they found him
They didn't know him and they didn't understand
They never asked him why
"Get out of my way"
They heard him shout
Then a blinding light
Ooh all I could see was him running down the street
Out of the shadows and into the night
Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Don't give up
Keep running, keep hiding
Don't give up
Billy, if you know you're right
Don't give up
You know that I am on your side
Don't give up
Oh Billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
They came at night leaving fear behind
Shadows were on the ground
Nobody knew where to find him
No evidence was found
"I'm never coming back"
They heard him cry
And I believe him
He never meant to do anything wrong
It's gonna get worse if he waits too long
Now Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere
That I can find you
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you, oh
Oh, now, Billy, Billy don't you lose my number
'Cause you're not anywhere that I can find you
Lyrics submitted by Boonechic_21
Don't Lose My Number Lyrics as written by Phil Collins
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
Fast Car
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"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.
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
This song describes an outcast ("they didn't know him"), well-meaning ("He never meant to do anything wrong") character probably being wrongly ("You know that I am on your side") accused by the society for an act they consider "wrong." This has been going on for a while ("It's gonna get worse if he waits too long"), and in all likelihood it's going to end badly for him ("Oh Billy, you better, you better, you better run for your life"). It is probably about a crime for which he's the primary suspect, and he flees jurisdiction the night the cops came to take him into custody. I haven't seen the video.
"The lyrics might seem like nonsense, but that's because they came from stream-of-consciousness writing sessions. Collins himself says there is no real story or message in the song. The MTV-friendly video spoofs the Police, the Cars, Michael Jackson, David Lee Roth and many other stars of the day."
rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-the-10-best-phil-collins-songs-20131211/9-dont-lose-my-number-0672179
Hm, never thought about it in that way. It seems like a close friend is trying to bring a young boy, going astray, back to reality or to doing right. And the older friend says "don't lose my number" to let the boy know that, even if he does wrong, he's there for him to call on.
I know this may not be what the song was intended to be about, but to me this song always seemed what Faber would have said to Montag in Fahrenheit 451.
According to the notes and back cover of the album "No Jacket Required," on which this was originally released, the song is actually called "Don't Lose My Number." That's okay though, because "Billy Don't Lose My Number" is probably a better title, the one that most people would think of. It's interesting that he omits the character name in the title.
It makes me think of a young boy being kidnapped
I always think of the movie The Legend of Billie Jean. To me it fits perfectly.
Except of course the fact that that particular 'billie' was a woman. To me, its the classic, wrong place wrong time story.
Well despite that, the title is changed to its correct self. Anyhoo, great song - one of the best of the album. Although the video doesn't explain that much I'm inclined to do with the billy the kid ideal!
I heard this today in a cookware store and couldn't hear the words very well, so I thought he was telling a woman not to loose his number because she was his everything. Either way, it's a great song. I Love Phil Collins.