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 wish you lonely
If only for one day
So that you might see routine for me
Since the day I was born, born
Think of yourself only
Of everything you demand
Or you want or you need
And to hell
To hell with everybody else, everybody else
Turn the key slowly
Remember how I can't sleep
Or if ever I do, an earthquake
An earthquake couldn't agitate, couldn't agitate
Tombs are full of fools who gave their life upon command
Of monarchy, oligarch, head of state, potentate
And now never coming back, never coming back
Tombs are full of fools who gave their life upon command
Of Romance gone wrong, the same old glue
And never coming true, never coming true
Tombs are full of fools who gave their life upon command of
Heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin
And never coming back, never coming back
I wish you lonely
Like the last tracked humpback whale
Chased by gunships from Bergen
But never giving in, never giving in
If only for one day
So that you might see routine for me
Since the day I was born, born
Think of yourself only
Of everything you demand
Or you want or you need
And to hell
To hell with everybody else, everybody else
Turn the key slowly
Remember how I can't sleep
Or if ever I do, an earthquake
An earthquake couldn't agitate, couldn't agitate
Tombs are full of fools who gave their life upon command
Of monarchy, oligarch, head of state, potentate
And now never coming back, never coming back
Tombs are full of fools who gave their life upon command
Of Romance gone wrong, the same old glue
And never coming true, never coming true
Tombs are full of fools who gave their life upon command of
Heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin, heroin
And never coming back, never coming back
I wish you lonely
Like the last tracked humpback whale
Chased by gunships from Bergen
But never giving in, never giving in
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
I Wish You Lonely Lyrics as written by Steven Patrick Morrissey Martin James Boorer
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
This song has the power to make you feel lonely and experience the insomnia referenced in the song. But it's worth it. The last line is uplifting.