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.
It's getting close to sundown over the Sierra
Stranded on the freeway burning with desire
She was on the sidewalk looking for a night light
We talked about the real things
And drove into the fire
Headlights on the highway
The desert wind is howling
Rattlesnakes and romance
Is filling with the rain
Candy apple red dress
Bleeding when she kissed me
Heaven in a rag top
Take away my pain
When your chips are down
When your highs are low
Joyride
Move across the night
Like a separate wind
Pulled up to a motel
"Vacancy" was buzzing
Pink and dirty neon
Settle on the hood
Wrap your arms around me
Come a little closer
Stumble in the twilight
And fell onto the floor
Loving Mona Lisa
Dreaming of the free world
Lipstick on the nightstand
And demons at the door
When your hopes and dreams
Lose the will to go
Joyride
Reaching for the light
Knowing we can't win
There's something in the distance
A glorious existence
A simple celebration
A place you've never been before
Tell me that you wanna go
Reaching for the light
Knowing we can't win
When your chips are down
When your highs are low
Joyride
All your hopes and dreams
All you need to know
Joyride
Stranded on the freeway burning with desire
She was on the sidewalk looking for a night light
We talked about the real things
And drove into the fire
Headlights on the highway
The desert wind is howling
Rattlesnakes and romance
Is filling with the rain
Candy apple red dress
Bleeding when she kissed me
Heaven in a rag top
Take away my pain
When your chips are down
When your highs are low
Joyride
Move across the night
Like a separate wind
Pulled up to a motel
"Vacancy" was buzzing
Pink and dirty neon
Settle on the hood
Wrap your arms around me
Come a little closer
Stumble in the twilight
And fell onto the floor
Loving Mona Lisa
Dreaming of the free world
Lipstick on the nightstand
And demons at the door
When your hopes and dreams
Lose the will to go
Joyride
Reaching for the light
Knowing we can't win
There's something in the distance
A glorious existence
A simple celebration
A place you've never been before
Tell me that you wanna go
Reaching for the light
Knowing we can't win
When your chips are down
When your highs are low
Joyride
All your hopes and dreams
All you need to know
Joyride
Lyrics submitted by jeremygrim
Joy Ride Lyrics as written by Dave Brent Keuning Brandon Flowers
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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He certainly did earn that reputation.
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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"
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
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Set in the desert, like many Killers songs and themes, he picks up the lady of the night and takes her to a seedy motel because his 'chips are down', his 'highs are low' and wants a 'Joyride' - something to take his mind off his troubles and to give him a bit of a pep-up. Personally I've never been to a prostitute, but I imagine it would be a depressing, unrewarding experience, and where the protagonist in the song starts talking of lofty ideals - "A glorious existance, A simple celebration ,A place you've never been before" he is saddened to realise that this woman cannot/will not share them with him, she doesn't love him at all, she's just earning a dollar. This point is underlined by the whispered line 'Why won't you kiss me?', she won't kiss him because she doesn't love him and he is starting to believe he can't win' - that he'll never find what he wants (love). Fairly saddening song in my opinion..
I think your spot on with the prostitution angle. I didnt think of that, but once that is put out there it fits the song perfectly. First off "Stranded on the freeway burning with desire, She was on the sidewalk looking for a night light" that along is very descriptive of a man looking for a girl to cure his lust. And I mean the line "Candy apple red dress" is also really telling, red is a naturally sexual color. <br /> <br /> Also I just finished a book that involves prositution, Lonesome Dove, and one main theme is how all the cowboys(its a western) envision themselves rescueing her and falling in love with her...ANd this part of the song exemplifies that to a tee<br /> <br /> Theres something in the distance<br /> A glorious existance<br /> A simple celebration<br /> A place you've never been before<br /> Tell me that you wanna go
You're dead wrong with the prostitute angle IMO. This is more like a simple one night stand a "joy ride". Why you the killers fans (tho I have to admit that I'm kind of a fan of "Sam's town" :D, their best album to date) have to always make it about a prostitute?
haha what a "groovy" song. I love it. I love the sound on their new album.
I kinda like how towards the end of the song you can hear "Why wont you kiss me? Why wont you kiss me?" which kind of puts a sad overtone on the whole song despite it sounding upbeat.
I think this song is time being spent in Vegas. the "when your chips are down and your highs are low" part would be about gambling and possible poker. saying that when the narrator isn't doing very good at the casinos then he goes and finds a prostitute
What an awsome song on an awsome album! Long live the killers (L)
What a dancey song! I mean GODDAMN.
Yes!I love The Killers when they do up beat songs,thay are sooo good at it.
he's either met his girlfriend, and their relationship is mostly physical (perhaps an affair?) or shes a whore he's picked up (considering the album focusses more on glitzy vegas i thinki this would also make sense). Their both pretty young and they have dark things to hide from ("deomns at the door), maybe their on drugs ("the highs are low") or maybe theyve realised its over or whatever, and they just want one last time. it's nothign to them, just somehting free to do, to forget and 'take away the pain' despite the fast beat etc, it is kinda sad, regretful, because they both knwo they're just using eachother etc.
amazzzzzing!!!!!!
so upbeat!! and so sexy still, the bongos the trumpet, its majestic!! the singing a lil monotonous but the music is amazing!
I've got this one. I believe it's about him picking up a prostitute aswell, it makes all the sense in the world.
He's driving along the highway, filled to the top with lust, and he picks up a girl. He takes her to a small motel, and finds comfort in her presence this night.
Loving Mona Lisa Dreaming of the free world Lipstick on the nightstand And demons at the door
He dreams of being free, probably from a relationship he's in, his girlfriend is the demon at the door, her face is hunting him.
When your hopes and dreams Lose the will to go Joyride Reaching for the light Knowing we can't win
His dream of losing his girlfriend won't go away, so he takes a joyride. The joyride is his light right now, but he knows it won't do him any good in a long term perspektive, and definitely not for his one-night stand. They can't win.
Theres something in the distance A glorious existance A simple celebration A place you've never been before Tell me that you wanna go
He wants to think that she's not just in it for the money, can't she act like this is a whole different experience to her? Can't he take her to an unfamiliar place with his sex, be a hero for her? He knows he can't.
Along with the tune this fits a lot.