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.
Where streets start getting wild
Well you're moving on down on the other side of the tracks
Would you cross that line baby, there ain't no turning back
Some raise and I don't ever wanna see that place
That's where the action is
Listen, hear the stories hear the lies
You hear the rooms they criticize
They call you everything under the moon
Then they try to buy you with diamonds and rings and rings
Move over baby gonna help you out of this mess
By the look of your face well you been here before I guess
You're hanging around, like some kinda parasite on past
And I just wanna tell you to come on let's go
And I know a place where never cold
And I know a place where the thing is sin
And I'm gonna tell you where the action is
Your momma's told you about whiskey and she's told you about beer
...drink and hear... nothing
It turns you into a monster it turns your mind insane
It does things to you where you will never come back again
I don't care what your disposition is I don't care what's your name
I'm gonna tell you where the action is
Look at you dressed in your debutante dress and your phoney eye-lashes
Walking around like you just walked out of some fucking car crash
You think that you're OK cause you're looking
like you're gonna have a smash
with the action
I don't care where you're going, I don't care what you say,
What your religion is
Baby, I just wanna tell you where the action is, hey, hey, hey, hey
Take off that wedding ring baby, you don't need it anymore
Take off that dress girl and throw it out the door
Take off those phoney make-up and those eye-lashes I saw
Take off your shoes and your hat
And throw the whole fucking lot right out the door
Come over here and lend me your ear
I'm gonna tell you where the action is
I don't care if you can read a book or if you can write
I don't care how long your hair is or how bright
I don't care about much to tell you the truth but that's allright
I only care is if you come on like you think you're with the action
I've got only one thing to say: come here darling, kiss me,
I'm gonna show you where the action is
You spend a little dollar and you spend a little dime
You get all funny and you laugh at your friends
And you think you're having a good time
You don't know nothing till you come around here and have some of mine
Then you'll start to understand about the two sides of the line
Come over here darling, lend me your ear, gonna educate you
Gonna tell you where the action is
Well you're moving on down on the other side of the tracks
Would you cross that line baby, there ain't no turning back
Some raise and I don't ever wanna see that place
That's where the action is
Listen, hear the stories hear the lies
You hear the rooms they criticize
They call you everything under the moon
Then they try to buy you with diamonds and rings and rings
Move over baby gonna help you out of this mess
By the look of your face well you been here before I guess
You're hanging around, like some kinda parasite on past
And I just wanna tell you to come on let's go
And I know a place where never cold
And I know a place where the thing is sin
And I'm gonna tell you where the action is
Your momma's told you about whiskey and she's told you about beer
...drink and hear... nothing
It turns you into a monster it turns your mind insane
It does things to you where you will never come back again
I don't care what your disposition is I don't care what's your name
I'm gonna tell you where the action is
Look at you dressed in your debutante dress and your phoney eye-lashes
Walking around like you just walked out of some fucking car crash
You think that you're OK cause you're looking
like you're gonna have a smash
with the action
I don't care where you're going, I don't care what you say,
What your religion is
Baby, I just wanna tell you where the action is, hey, hey, hey, hey
Take off that wedding ring baby, you don't need it anymore
Take off that dress girl and throw it out the door
Take off those phoney make-up and those eye-lashes I saw
Take off your shoes and your hat
And throw the whole fucking lot right out the door
Come over here and lend me your ear
I'm gonna tell you where the action is
I don't care if you can read a book or if you can write
I don't care how long your hair is or how bright
I don't care about much to tell you the truth but that's allright
I only care is if you come on like you think you're with the action
I've got only one thing to say: come here darling, kiss me,
I'm gonna show you where the action is
You spend a little dollar and you spend a little dime
You get all funny and you laugh at your friends
And you think you're having a good time
You don't know nothing till you come around here and have some of mine
Then you'll start to understand about the two sides of the line
Come over here darling, lend me your ear, gonna educate you
Gonna tell you where the action is
Lyrics submitted by ecorchee1, edited by Mellow_Harsher
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Spirit Within
Bertoldi Brothers
Bertoldi Brothers
Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Show Me a Little Shame
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals
He certainly did earn that reputation.
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
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.
Completely improvised and recorded straight to DAT. Musically it was the basis of a little song called 'Red Right Hand'.