Music moves in cycles, but some songs just get stuck in the gears. Tove Lo’s breakout hit "Habits (Stay High)" is one of those rare tracks that managed to bridge the gap between a dance-floor filler and a raw, borderline-uncomfortable confession. When you look at the stay high habits lyrics, you aren't just looking at catchy pop writing. You're looking at a blueprint for the "sad girl pop" era that paved the way for artists like Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo.
It’s messy. It’s honest. Honestly, it's a bit gross in parts. But that is exactly why it worked in 2014 and why it still resonates today.
The Brutal Honesty Behind the Stay High Habits Lyrics
Most pop songs about breakups focus on the heartbreak itself—the crying in the rain, the "I miss you" texts, the dramatic longing. Tove Lo went a different direction. She focused on the ugly, self-destructive aftermath. The opening lines immediately set a tone that was drastically different from the polished EDM-pop dominating the charts at the time.
Eating dinner in the bathtub? Picking up twinkies? It’s not glamorous. It’s a vivid depiction of clinical depression and the frantic attempt to numb emotional pain with physical indulgence. The stay high habits lyrics describe a protagonist who is actively trying to "eat her dinner in her bathtub" because she’s simply too exhausted or emotionally drained to function like a normal human being.
Why the "Stay High" Part Matters
The chorus is where the song finds its rhythmic hook, but the message is actually quite dark. "You're gone and I gotta stay high / All the time / To keep you off my mind." This isn't a celebratory anthem about partying. It's about a chemical necessity. Tove Lo has spoken in various interviews, including deep dives with Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, about how the song was born from a real-life breakup that left her reeling. She wasn't trying to write a hit; she was trying to vent.
The "high" mentioned here isn't just about substances. It's about any distraction that provides a temporary hit of dopamine to stave off the crushing reality of being alone. It's the "habits" of the title. These habits—binge eating, sleeping around, partying until the sun comes up—are all defense mechanisms.
The Hippie Sabotage Remix vs. The Original
You can't talk about these lyrics without mentioning the version most people actually know. While the original version of "Habits" is a mid-tempo, moody synth-pop track, the "Stay High" remix by Hippie Sabotage turned it into a global phenomenon.
Interestingly, the remix shifts the emotional weight.
By pitching Tove Lo’s voice up and layering it over a chilled-out, hazy beat, the remix makes the self-destruction feel almost... aesthetic? It’s a strange juxtaposition. You have these deeply sad stay high habits lyrics about being unable to cope with life, yet people were blasting it at festivals while actually getting high. It created this weird double-life for the song. One version is a cry for help; the other is the soundtrack to the very behavior the song is describing.
Breaking Down the Verse Structure
Let’s look at the second verse. It’s arguably more visceral than the first. "Spend my days locked in a haze / Trying to forget you babe, I fall back down."
Then comes the part that shocked radio listeners back then: the mentions of going to "sex clubs" and "watching scary movies." It’s a chaotic list of coping strategies. It shows a lack of judgment. When you’re in that headspace, you don’t care if a choice is "good" for you. You only care if it works for the next ten minutes.
- The bathtub dinner: Isolation and lack of self-care.
- The twinkies: Emotional eating and sugar crashes.
- The sex clubs: Seeking intimacy in empty places.
- The "stay high" mantra: Constant avoidance of the self.
The Cultural Impact of Tove Lo’s Transparency
Before "Habits," female pop stars were often expected to be either the "victim" or the "empowered survivor." Tove Lo introduced a third category: the "mess."
By being so transparent in the stay high habits lyrics, she gave permission to a whole generation of songwriters to be unlikable. You don't have to be a hero in your own song. You can be the person throwing up in the hallway or making bad decisions at 3:00 AM.
This "raw" Swedish pop sensibility—pioneered by Robyn and refined by Tove Lo—changed the DNA of the Billboard Hot 100. It proved that you could have a massive radio hit while singing about things that were traditionally considered "taboo" for women in music.
A Note on the "Dirty" Lyrics
There’s a specific grit to the way she describes her habits. She talks about "fingers splayed" and "getting woozy." It’s sensory. It’s tactile. Most pop lyrics are vague. They use metaphors like "my heart is a broken glass." Tove Lo doesn't do that. She tells you exactly what she's doing to her body to make the thoughts stop. This specificity is why the song hasn't aged poorly. Facts don't age; metaphors do.
How to Interpret the Lyrics in 2026
Looking back from the perspective of today, the stay high habits lyrics feel like a precursor to the current conversations we have about mental health and "doomscrolling" or "rot-bedding." While the song focuses on partying, the underlying theme is "escapism at any cost."
In an era where we are constantly looking for ways to distract ourselves from global anxiety or personal loneliness, "Stay High" remains a perfect, if haunting, anthem. It’s about the cycle of the "fix." You get high to forget, you crash, you feel worse because you’re alone, so you get high again. It’s a circle. The song doesn't offer a resolution. It doesn't end with her finding "self-love." It just ends with the cycle continuing.
💡 You might also like: The Tyger by William Blake: Why This Fierce Poem Still Haunts Us
Actionable Takeaways for Songwriters and Listeners
If you’re dissecting these lyrics for your own creative work or just trying to understand why they stick in your head, here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Specificity over Metaphor
If you want to write something that lasts, stop using clichés. Don't say you're sad; say you're eating cold pizza in the shower. The more specific the detail, the more universal it feels. People relate to the "gross" details because everyone has them.
2. The Power of the "Ugly" Truth
Don't be afraid to be the "villain" or the "mess" in your own story. Authenticity often lives in the parts of ourselves we are ashamed of. Tove Lo’s career was built on the fact that she was willing to say the quiet parts out loud.
3. Context Changes Everything
Notice how the Hippie Sabotage remix changed the "meaning" of the lyrics for most listeners. If you're a creator, realize that the production behind your words can either reinforce your message or ironically flip it on its head.
4. Identify Your Own "Habits"
From a lifestyle perspective, the song serves as a mirror. It asks: what are you doing to "stay high" and avoid your own thoughts? Recognizing those patterns is the first step toward breaking the cycle the song describes.
To truly understand the impact of the song, one should listen to the original Queen of the Clouds version and then the remix back-to-back. The contrast between the desperate vocal delivery of the original and the detached, ethereal vibe of the remix tells the whole story of how we process pain in the modern world: we take something raw and we turn it into something we can dance to.