“Habits (Stay High)” by Tove Lo – Lyrics for English Students

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Going to the club and watching strangers have a go at each other isn’t a habit that most people have, I’d feel pretty safe to say. But most of us do have a bad habit that we’re trying to kick, which made this song more relatable in the end. Maybe you’re an English student or English learner. Maybe you heard this song and loved it, but didn’t understand some parts. Maybe you understand all the lyrics and just wanted to hear it again. Whatever brought you here, welcome! These lyrics are meant to help those who are learning English and may not have picked up on certain expressions or grammar, but anyone is welcome to read.

To read the lyrics without my explanations: Genius Lyrics

Challenge for better practice:

1) listen to the song and try to pay attention to the words, 2) read the lyrics with the explanations below, then, 3) listen to the song again to check your comprehension.

Warning!

The video and the lyrics have some slightly inappropriate content. It may not be good for kids, and parents might have to use discretion on this one. Everyone’s taste is different so, you know … enjoy!

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Read more: Lyrics “Explained”

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Habits (Stay High) – Lyrics & Explanations

I eat my dinner in my bathtub, then I go to sex clubs

Watchin’ freaky people gettin’ it on

• Slang / Informal Expressions: “Freaky” in this sense means to be very sexually open, promiscuous, and adventurous. Or, it’s just someone who likes sex a lot. To “get it on” means to get physical, have intimate relations with someone.

It doesn’t make me nervous, if anything, I’m restless

Yeah, I’ve been around and I’ve seen it all

• Expressions / Idioms: Saying “I’ve been around” is like saying that the person has experience, has lived through many situations, and some things that are shocking to most seem normal to her. An extended way to say the same thing is, “I’ve been around the block.”

I get home, I got the munchies

• Slang / Informal Speech: “The munchies” is being hungry or having a craving for certain types of food. It usually is an abnormal hunger, persistent and won’t go away. I think it was popularized with cannabis culture since people often get the munchies after smoking.

Binge on all my Twinkies

Evan-Amos

• Common Speech: To “binge” is to consume a lot of something in a short amount of time, often to the point of getting sick from it. It’s often used to talk about food, but nowadays people also “binge-watch” a TV show or series.
• Snacks: I’ll post a picture of a Twinkie for those that don’t know.

Throw up in the tub, then I go to sleep

And I drank up all my money, dazed and kinda lonely

• Casual Speech: To “drink up” something means to drink it all. She is referring to drinking alcohol, or spending all her money on liquor.
• Common Speech: “Dazed” means to be in a weird mental state of numbness and confusion, almost like being in a trance.

You’re gone and I gotta stay high

• Grammar: *”And I’ve got to stay high …” also, “and I have to stay high …”
• Slang: “High” is being under the influence of drugs, probably cannabis in Tove Lo’s case.

All the time to keep you off my mind

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

High, all the time, to keep you off my mind

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Spend my days locked in a haze tryna forget you, babe

• Grammar: *”I spend my days … trying to forget you babe …”
• Common Speech: “Haze” is like a fuzzy, thick smoke or pollution in the air. When talking about a mental state, it relates to being in a fuzzy, clouded state of mind where things don’t really make sense. It also could just mean that she smokes every day trying to forget her ex or whoever.

I fall back down

Gotta stay high, all my life, to forget I’m missin’ you

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Other lyrics you might like: After the Storm, (Kali Uchis); Pleasure, (Feist); What Goes Around …/… Comes Around, (Justin Timberlake); i like the devil, (Purity Ring); Cameo Lover, (Kimbra); Don’t Start, (Dua Lipa); Dani California, (Red Hot Chili Peppers); Colorado, (Kota the Friend); Day N Nite, (Kid Cudi)

Pick up daddies at the playground, how I spend my daytime

Loosen up their frown, make ’em feel alive

• Casual Expressions: To “loosen up” something is to undo it, unwind it, or put it in a relaxed state.
• Grammar: *”Make them feel alive …”

I make it fast and greasy, I’m numb and way too easy

• Informal / Casual Speech: “Greasy” is usually used to describe food that is oily and bad for you, as well as car parts that are dirty and covered in sticky oil, which we would call “grease.” By saying it’s “fast and greasy,” it’s as if she is relating the situation to fast food, food that is quick and tastes good at the moment but leaves you feeling bad or dirty afterward. By saying her encounters were greasy, they were probably dirty, oily, sticky, and sort of uncomfortable. When someone is referred to as “easy,” it usually means they are easy to get with or sleep with. In less explicit contexts, it means that the person is really easy-going and isn’t very demanding. Saying “way too” is like adding emphasis to the “too.” It just means very very very. “It is way too hot outside.”

You’re gone and I gotta stay high

All the time, to keep you off my mind

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

High, all the time, to keep you off my mind

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Spend my days locked in a haze, tryna forget you, babe

I fall back down

Gotta stay high, all my life, to forget I’m missin’ you

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Staying in my play pretend, where the fun ain’t got no end

• Expressions: “Play-pretend” is kind of like the world of “make-believe,” like the world of a child’s fantasy.
• Grammar: *”Where the fun doesn’t have an / any end …”

Oh, can’t go home alone again, need someone to numb the pain

• Grammar: *”I can’t go home … I need someone to numb …”

Oh, staying in my play pretend, where the fun ain’t got no end

Oh, can’t go home alone again, need someone to numb the pain

Then it repeats.

**Do you have a song suggestion you’d like me to explain the lyrics for? Want more songs by Tove Lo? Contact me with a one-to-one message or for collaboration at tietewaller@gmail.com (also on my contact page). Thanks again for stopping by. Peace to you!