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.
Oh God hold me now.
Oh Lord hold me now.
There's no other man
who could raise the dead.
So do what you can
to anoint my head.
Oh God, where are you now?
Oh Lord save somehow.
The Devil is hard on my face again.
The world is a hundred to one again.
Would the righteous still remain?
Would my body stay the same?
Oh God hold me now.
Oh God touch me now.
There's no other man
who could save the dead.
There's no other garden
to place our head.
Would the righteous still remain?
Would my body stay the same?
There's no other man
who could raise the dead.
So do what you can
to anoint my head.
Oh God hold me now.
Oh Lord touch me now.
Oh Lord hold me now.
There's no other man
who could raise the dead.
So do what you can
to anoint my head.
Oh God, where are you now?
Oh Lord save somehow.
The Devil is hard on my face again.
The world is a hundred to one again.
Would the righteous still remain?
Would my body stay the same?
Oh God hold me now.
Oh God touch me now.
There's no other man
who could save the dead.
There's no other garden
to place our head.
Would the righteous still remain?
Would my body stay the same?
There's no other man
who could raise the dead.
So do what you can
to anoint my head.
Oh God hold me now.
Oh Lord touch me now.
Oh God, Where Are You Now? (In Pickeral Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?) song meanings
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Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
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The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
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.
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Sufjan has a way of incorporating religion into his songs that seems so unobtrusive as compared to the majority of religious (Christian) music. This song seems to be about the need for God, especially during times when someone feels alone and isolated. Lyrics such as "oh Lord, say somehow, the devil is hard on my face again ... there's no other man who could raise the dead" give an image fo someone in desperate need of the presence of God or religion.
Mike
i have no need of god, the world operates just fine withouth "him"
this song is beautiful in its simplicity. It seems to be written form the perspective of someone who is worn out with fighting against the world. But there is faith in the peaceful tone and calm but beautiful melodies. It reminds me of the verse "Be still and know that I am God".
most beautiful song of all time.
I agree with everyone. The line "The world is a hundred to one again" reminds me of the prophet Elijah. If you're not familiar with him, he was THE prophet of Israel for a while in the Old Testament. Because he preferred to work alone rather than with a support team, he often got lonely. In one instance he had a price on his head, and seemingly everyone wanted to kill him. At one point Elijah cried out to God that he was the only one who still loved the Lord, and God replied that He had reserved for Himself a remnant of 7,000 Israelites who still believed in God (instead of the myriad false gods worshipped by the masses), and that was a great encouragement to Elijah.
This song totally makes me think of that story. Whenever you feel persecuted, that the world is against you, remember that the Lord is faithful, and will always be with you.
I dont understand how someone can write a song that is so ambiguous and at the same time so specific. One of his best for sure!
i agree. i love sufjan's ways of showing his struggle with his faith. because every christian comes to terms with his religion at some point or another. this song is beautiful. beautiful.
Absolutly beautiful. Miss Misery, it does a little. It also makes me think of Psalm 119:50 "My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preservs life."
I was looking for Sufjan lyrics, and I clicked on this song, and it made me cry because I was feeling like God wasn't listening and I felt that this really conected with how I felt.
This song has a really intense, yet hopeful feel to it. One thing that I love musically is the last 1:45 seconds of the song where you just hear the horns and all the other instruments are absent. The way I hear it is like finally finding peace in Gods presence after the uncertainty of Him being there. Its truly beautiful. Sufjan Stevens is a master songwriter.
I agree with Mike, completely.
I would agree that the simplicity is one of the best things about the song. It's just about being frustrated and desperate, and then sort of stepping out of the situation and thinking about where God is in this. It's such a relaxing, calming song, I'll usually listen to it when i'm falling asleep.