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.
Oh, tonight began with anything
Shaft of a light, a warm breath and a scream
Ah, yeah
Oh, tamper if you like between the doors
Oh yeah huh huh
Oh, can't expect to go out, to go out with anything, anything more
Oh reach the door a breath and a
Oh reach the door and a na na la la yeah
Life ain't what it's worth
A breath and a, oh reach the door
All these reaching hands out grabbing things, grabbing me
Day in, day out accumulating, ah yeah
Whoa, I suggest you step out on your porch
Oh yeah, huh, huh, huh, huh yeah
Run away my son, see it all, oh see the world
Oh reach the door, a breath and a
Oh reach the door, oh ah and a na na la la yeah
Life ain't what it's worth
A breath and a, oh reach the door
Come, here it comes, there it goes, when it comes
Where it goes, where it comes
Can't see through the faith, whoa
Ooh, come, here it comes, there it goes
Grasp what you can
Don't you know there's something inside your head, yeah
Oh, if I knew where it was I would take you there
But there's much more than this
Ooh, whoa, much more than this, whoa see the world, much more than
Much more than
Why?
Shaft of a light, a warm breath and a scream
Ah, yeah
Oh, tamper if you like between the doors
Oh yeah huh huh
Oh, can't expect to go out, to go out with anything, anything more
Oh reach the door a breath and a
Oh reach the door and a na na la la yeah
Life ain't what it's worth
A breath and a, oh reach the door
All these reaching hands out grabbing things, grabbing me
Day in, day out accumulating, ah yeah
Whoa, I suggest you step out on your porch
Oh yeah, huh, huh, huh, huh yeah
Run away my son, see it all, oh see the world
Oh reach the door, a breath and a
Oh reach the door, oh ah and a na na la la yeah
Life ain't what it's worth
A breath and a, oh reach the door
Come, here it comes, there it goes, when it comes
Where it goes, where it comes
Can't see through the faith, whoa
Ooh, come, here it comes, there it goes
Grasp what you can
Don't you know there's something inside your head, yeah
Oh, if I knew where it was I would take you there
But there's much more than this
Ooh, whoa, much more than this, whoa see the world, much more than
Much more than
Why?
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.
Corpse I Fell In Love With
Gadjits, The
Gadjits, The
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.
The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
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 completely changed my life. Silly, I know, but Pearl Jam really had a huge influence on me. This song in particular gave me balls, guts, nerve - whatever - to leave a bad situation. Not a bad situation really... just not the right one. And move on - and now I'm seeing it all, seeing the world. Thanks, PJ.
@fnnkybutt I had pretty much the same experience shortly after discovering this song years ago.
I like where eddie leaves the chorus open for the listener to insert whatever it is in their life that is holding them back from really experiencing the world. life ain't worth whats its worth. a breath and a ... (dead end job, destructive relationship, bad childhood, addiction) oh reach the door and leave these things behind and see the world.
This line is also interesting.
"cant see through the faith, whoh" Almost like eddie is saying don't let faith hold you back either. Maybe faith in the religious sense or maybe faith that something good will come if you sit and wait. Instead you need to get out there and find your own happiness. Let the world see the person you really are inside your head, not the person that someone else tells you to be. Someone else being parents, the church, peers.
This line "if i knew where it was, i would take you there" is almost like eddie saying that one persons happiness can be anothers misery. So he can't show you where your happiness is, each person has to go and find it on their own.
One of the great early PJ songs for sure.
one of their top 5 ever. Was supposedly written by Stone Gossard while still w/ Mother Love Bone per Wiki. Aside from that, this is an anthem for my life and a deeply personal song. Reminds me of going through a period during college where I had a back injury and had to quit school move home for a year. All I could think about was how badly I wanted to get back to my life. This song helped keep me going and inspire me. I still get chills when Eddie screams "If I knew where it was, I would take you there" which to me means, he wants so badly to help you but only you can find your own path and take yourself there, but all he can tell you is, there is more than this i.e. "I am not sure what it is, but I know it's out there, and I know it's better than this - so never stop trying everything you can to improve your quality of life, and identify and follow your bliss." How? Good question. I say, be introspective, be honest with yourself, and most importantly, just TRY a bunch of different stuff out, and move on if it does not FIRE you up! Try woodworking, singing, surfing, working, traveling, loving, dancing, cooking, helping people, whatever - just try it all and your passion may find you.
I love the music in this song, especially the live version on the Covering Them CD. It sounds to me like its about life as a big adventure and not getting tied down to something you really dont need to enjoy live. PJ is one of the best bands in the world
hell yeah! makes me want to just up and see the world!
One of the best pearl jam songs. It's very motivational. Just get up and get it done!
If I knew where it was, I would take you there...
that is one of the best lines ever
Great song!
Agreed. Great song.
Good interpretations here. But I think it's interesting, 'step out on your porch'. Reminds me of Yellow Ledbetter 'can't you see them? out on the porch. but they don't wave.' So Breath is someone leaving their porch and YLB is them coming back in a body bag (dead). I don't think the two songs are really related, only Pearl Jam knows. ;)
i trhink this song, porch, and yellow leadbetter have to go together cause of the porch refrense