It’s been over ten years since Tove Lo dropped "Habits (Stay High)," and the song still feels like a punch to the gut. You know the vibe. That hazy, synth-heavy production by The Struts. That raw, almost uncomfortably honest lyricism. It wasn’t just another pop song about partying; it was a gritty, sweaty manifesto about the lengths people go to avoid feeling a specific kind of pain. When she sings "you're gone and i gotta stay high all the time," she isn't celebrating a weekend bender. She’s describing survival.
The track peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2014, but its legacy isn't really about the charts. It’s about how it captured a very specific flavor of millennial nihilism. It was the era of "sad girl pop," but Tove Lo brought a Swedish bluntness that made Lorde or Lana Del Rey feel almost polished by comparison.
The Messy Reality of Post-Breakup Escapism
Most breakup songs are about crying in your room or burning old letters. Tove Lo went in a different direction. She went to dinner in a bathtub. She ate her dinner in the bathtub then went to sex clubs to find someone to "throw up" her heart for. It’s gross. It’s visceral. It’s real.
The core hook—you're gone and i gotta stay high all the time—is a feedback loop. It's the "Hippie Sabotage" remix that most people actually remember, which took the original's melancholy and turned it into a woozy, slowed-down trip. That remix basically defined the SoundCloud era. It’s ironic, honestly. A song about the destructive cycle of drug use to numb heartbreak became the ultimate "smoke session" anthem.
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People often forget that the song was actually released twice. It first came out in 2013, did almost nothing, and was then re-released in 2014 as "Habits (Stay High)" after the remix started blowing up in Europe. It’s a masterclass in how a song can evolve from a personal confession into a global cultural moment. Tove Lo has stated in multiple interviews, including with Rolling Stone, that the song was 100% autobiographical. She was actually living that life—the benders, the avoidance, the "twinkies" for dinner.
Why the "Stay High" Hook Still Resonates
Why do we still care? Because the feeling of "staying high" doesn't have to be about substances. It’s about the distractions we use to fill the void when someone leaves.
- The Dopamine Chase: In 2026, we don’t just stay high on weed or booze; we stay high on scrolling. We stay high on validation. The "you're gone" part of the lyrics represents any significant loss—a job, a relationship, a sense of self.
- The "Sad-Happy" Paradox: Swedish pop is famous for this. Think ABBA or Robyn. It’s a depressing lyric over a beat that makes you want to move. This creates a cognitive dissonance that mimics the actual feeling of being high—you're numb, but you're vibrating.
- Radical Vulnerability: Before every TikTok influencer was "sharing their truth," Tove Lo was singing about picking up crusty pizza off the floor.
The production on the original track is worth looking at too. It’s cold. The drums are crisp but the synths feel like they’re melting. It mirrors the lyrics perfectly. You have this steady beat (the routine of the habit) underneath these unstable, wavering melodies (the emotional state).
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The Hippie Sabotage Influence
We have to talk about the remix. Sacramento duo Hippie Sabotage took the track and pitched Tove Lo’s voice up, then slowed the tempo down. It created a "screw" effect that made the line "stay high all the time" sound like a mantra.
It changed the meaning for a lot of listeners. The original felt like a warning; the remix felt like an invitation. This tension is where the song lives. It’s the difference between the morning after and the peak of the night.
The Cultural Impact of 2010s "Bender Pop"
"Habits" wasn't alone. It was part of a wave that included Sia’s "Chandelier" and The Weeknd’s early mixtapes. This was music that stopped pretending the party was fun. It started showing the vomit on the shoes.
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Tove Lo’s success paved the way for artists like Halsey or Billie Eilish, who aren't afraid to be "unlikeable" in their music. She didn't try to be the "good girl" who got her heart broken. She was the girl who made a mess of her life because she didn't know how to handle the silence. That’s why, even now, when that beat drops, people don’t just dance—they shout the lyrics. They're shouting their own distractions.
Actionable Insights for the "Stay High" Cycle
If you find yourself relating a little too much to the idea that you're gone and i gotta stay high all the time, it’s usually a sign of "avoidant coping." Psychologists call this experiential avoidance. It feels good in the moment because it works. Until it doesn’t.
- Audit your "highs": Identify what you use to numb out. Is it Instagram? Is it 3:00 AM DoorDash? Is it actually substances? Labeling it is the first step to breaking the loop.
- The 15-Minute Rule: When the urge to "stay high" (distract yourself) hits, sit with the "you're gone" feeling for just 15 minutes. No phone, no booze, no nothing. Usually, the peak of the emotional wave passes in that window.
- Listen to the Original: If you’ve only ever heard the remix, go back to the original 2013 version. It’s less of a "vibe" and more of a story. It forces you to hear the pain in the lyrics rather than just the groove of the bassline.
- Check the "Queen of the Clouds" Context: "Habits" is part of a concept album. It’s in the "The Pain" section. Understanding the narrative arc—from "The Sex" to "The Love" to "The Pain"—helps reframe the song as a stage of grief rather than a permanent lifestyle.
Ultimately, the song is a reminder that you can't outrun yourself. Tove Lo eventually moved past that era of her life. She’s still "the coolest girl in Sweden," but she isn't eating dinner in bathtubs anymore. The song exists as a time capsule of a moment where the only way to stay standing was to stay numb. It’s a heavy legacy for a pop song, but that’s exactly why it’s a classic.
To really understand the shift in her perspective, look into her later work like Sunshine Kitty or Dirt Femme. You’ll see how she evolved from the "Habits" girl into someone who can talk about desire and loss without needing to stay high to survive it.
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