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.
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
Come, come one, come all
You must be this tall
To ride this ride at the carnival
Oh, come, take my hand
And run though playland
So high, too high at the carnival
And it's all fun and games
'Til somebody falls in love
But you already bought a ticket
And there's no turning back now
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
This horse is too slow
We're always this close
Almost, almost, we're a freakshow
Right, right when I'm near
It's like you disappear
Where'd you go? Mister Houdini, you're a freakshow
And it's all fun and games
'Til somebody falls in love
But you already bought a ticket
And there's no turning back now
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
Why did you steal my cotton candy heart?
You threw it in this damn coin slot
And now I'm stuck, I'm stuck
Riding, riding, riding
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
Come, come one, come all
You must be this tall
To ride this ride at the carnival
Oh, come, take my hand
And run though playland
So high, too high at the carnival
And it's all fun and games
'Til somebody falls in love
But you already bought a ticket
And there's no turning back now
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
This horse is too slow
We're always this close
Almost, almost, we're a freakshow
Right, right when I'm near
It's like you disappear
Where'd you go? Mister Houdini, you're a freakshow
And it's all fun and games
'Til somebody falls in love
But you already bought a ticket
And there's no turning back now
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
Why did you steal my cotton candy heart?
You threw it in this damn coin slot
And now I'm stuck, I'm stuck
Riding, riding, riding
Round and round like a horse on a carousel, we go
Will I catch up to love? I can never tell, I know
Chasing after you is like a fairytale, but I
Feel like I'm glued on tight to this carousel
Lyrics submitted by LiveInImagination
Carousel Lyrics as written by Melanie Martinez Jeremy Dussolliet
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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its amazing how far music can come.. 24 years after it released and its one of the most heartfelt songs ive heard
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He reuses the verse melody from the previous album's "Dirty Little Religion", the topics of the verses are all over the place, and he packs too many words into one line (goes to show...) and too few in another (it's pretty hard to find), and rhymes "Henley Regatta" with "Persona non grata", but gets away with it all as only he could.
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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.
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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.
This song is about chasing after love, but chasing after it is "like a fairytale" as she is never able to catch up, it's just an endless circle and she can't catch up to love.