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.
I am still, without devotion
Cause we're all asleep at the wheel
Asleep and so surrounded by
What we feel
A bad dream
On a rope and pulled through an ocean
With my heart, I'm lost out at sea
And every kind of thought screams misery
So lonely
Im a johnny come lately
But I will not give up
And the words they escape me
But I'm full of dumb luck
And the world is an oyster
With a poisonous shell
And the look in my eye
Is a look that can kill
And Dream a bit
I am not, without emotion
I have ran, from the pain of my will
From the mess of a hunt and a catch, and the thrill
And I'm ill
I am known, in the circles of envy
I'd thank God, but then what is he for
Cause I left a few hard calls at his front door
I'll leave more
Don't you go
Come a little bit closer now
If you like
When you die
Wake your soul
To a little light fire now
If you like
When you die
Speak to me
Cry a river and make believe
In the whites
Of your eyes
Clasp your hands
Do whatever your heart commands
You will find
When you die
Your are mine
Cause we're all asleep at the wheel
Asleep and so surrounded by
What we feel
A bad dream
On a rope and pulled through an ocean
With my heart, I'm lost out at sea
And every kind of thought screams misery
So lonely
Im a johnny come lately
But I will not give up
And the words they escape me
But I'm full of dumb luck
And the world is an oyster
With a poisonous shell
And the look in my eye
Is a look that can kill
And Dream a bit
I am not, without emotion
I have ran, from the pain of my will
From the mess of a hunt and a catch, and the thrill
And I'm ill
I am known, in the circles of envy
I'd thank God, but then what is he for
Cause I left a few hard calls at his front door
I'll leave more
Don't you go
Come a little bit closer now
If you like
When you die
Wake your soul
To a little light fire now
If you like
When you die
Speak to me
Cry a river and make believe
In the whites
Of your eyes
Clasp your hands
Do whatever your heart commands
You will find
When you die
Your are mine
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I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
It was the first song that we wrote, and i wrote the whole song up until the chorus, lyrically, about doubting religion. So, flash forward a year-and-a-half later and about two or three months ago, my dad passed away. The night that he passed away, I woke up from my sleep with an extraordinarily massive amount of energy, and I can only describe it as though someone injected me with a gallon of methamphetamine's and ecstasy with electricity. My heart is going 1000 miles per minute, and something is in the room and I can't figure out what this is. I reach for my phone, and there's nothing on my phone. Mind you, i just left my dad at hospice a couple of hours before that. I lay back down, and for 30 minutes I'm trying to fall back asleep, but i can't because i'm literally high. Then my phone buzzes and it's the hospice nurse and she said, "Please call me." I called her, and she said, "Your dad passed away 30 minutes ago." It was the most insane feeling ever. It was so supernatural that it literally changed my life, because it was so strong. Then i went back and i wrote the chorus for this song doubting the existence of God. It's a juxtaposition within the song itself. - tom
I think this song is about depression and suicide. In the first verses Tom Delonge is singing about being sad and disconnected from everyone. He also talks about how he is trying to come in contact with God, but he is not getting an answer. The climax of the song (where it starts "Dont you go, come a little bit closer now") is God speaking back, basically saying, he loves him and just wants his son to come home, if he would like..
"I had a magical experience this year when I lost my father and I was woken up in the middle of the night feeling his presence. It literally changed my life. It was the first 'paranormal' experience I ever had. I wrote the song Tunnels about it, doubting religion ... And two years later when this happened with my father, I then wrote the chorus .... That something beautiful and epic is on the other side" - Tom Delonge (on Facebook)