Foxygen is an American indie rock duo originally formed in Westlake Village… Read Full Bio ↴Foxygen is an American indie rock duo originally formed in Westlake Village, California in 2005 by Jonathan Rado and Sam France.

Their music initially featured many influences from 60s psychedelia, played with a rough lo-fi abandon. They self-released several EPs and albums between 2007 and 2011, including "30 track space opera" Jurassic Exxplosion Philippic, most of which are by now scarcely available. In 2011, they met producer/songwriter Richard Swift after handing him one of their EPs, and Swift would go on to work with them for some subsequent albums. After being signed to Jagjaguwar Records, Take the Kids Off Broadway, was released as their debut album on July 24, 2012. On January 22, 2013, they released their second album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic. This album was produced by Richard Swift and recorded at his National Freedom studios.

For each album Foxygen 'chooses' a different era in music history to focus themselves on. We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic is based on the sixties, ...And Star Power was seventies and their newest release Hang is based on the forties.

Album discographyJurrassic Exxplosion Phillipic (2007)Take the Kids Off Broadway (2011)We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (2013)...And Star Power (2014)Hang (2017)Seeing Other People (2019)

How Can You Really
Foxygen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

How can you really love someone who can't love you
How can you love someone you can't leave
It's my fault, it's your fault too
How 'bout you go and find somebody who can love you

When I wake up in the morning
How long until you roll in my dreams
But how I learned not to care
If you're not the story that's easily seized
And how can you treat me so badly
If you love me don't treat me so mean
'Cause I'm darlin', politely asking
Can't you see all the pain that I'm in

It's gettin' pretty hard to make it
That's all the time for me, and for you

How can you really love someone who can't love you
How can you love someone you can't leave
It's my fault, it's your fault too
How 'bout you go and find somebody who can love you

How can you really love someone who can't love you
How can you love someone you can't leave
It's my fault, it's your fault too
How 'bout you go and find somebody who can love you

How can you really love someone who can't love you
How can you love someone you can't leave
It's my fault, it's your fault too
How 'bout you go and find somebody who can love you

How can you really love someone who can't love you
How can you love someone you can't leave

It's my fault, it's your fault too
How 'bout you go and find somebody who can love you

Overall Meaning

The song "How Can You Really" by Foxygen explores the difficulties of loving someone who cannot reciprocate your feelings. The lyrics describe a scenario where the singer wakes up next to their lover in the morning, listening to them reminisce about their travels and believing that they are now the one for them. However, as the song progresses, it becomes clear that the relationship is one-sided and the singer is suffering from unrequited love. The chorus repeatedly asks the question "How can you really love someone who can't love you?" emphasizing the pain that comes with a relationship that is not reciprocal.

The singer is in a state of confusion as their lover continues to treat them poorly despite claiming to love them. The song suggests that it is time for the partner to find someone who can love and reciprocate their feelings since they cannot continue to love someone who cannot love them back. The lyrics show a sense of desperation and anguish as the singer tries to understand why their lover treats them so harshly if they claim to love them.

Overall, the lyrics of "How Can You Really" by Foxygen poignantly capture the pain of a one-sided relationship and the need for self-love and moving on from someone who cannot reciprocate one's feelings.

Line by Line Meaning

In the morning when they found us
We were discovered lying together when the day began

And we woke up in the coconut wind
The breeze of the island's palms roused us from slumber

How you took my hand and told me
You held my hand and recounted to me

All the stories of the places you'd been
Your travels and life experiences you had visited

And how you thought that I would make it
You believed I could succeed in life

Now you were the one for me, yeah
You were now the perfect individual for me

How can you really love someone who can't love you
Is it possible to have genuine affection for someone who cannot reciprocate it?

How can you love someone you can't leave
How can you cherish someone you cannot depart from?

It's my fault, it's your fault too
We share the responsibility for our current situation

How 'bout you go and find somebody who can love you
Why don't you search for someone who is capable of loving you?

When I wake up in the morning
Upon awaking each day

How long until you roll in my dreams
How long will it take for you to appear in my dreams?

But how I learned not to care
But I've discovered I must be unconcerned

If you're not the story that's easily seized
Unless you're the simple tale that can be grasped and understood

And how can you treat me so badly
And why do you treat me cruelly?

If you love me don't treat me so mean
If you claim to love me, then why treat me unkindly?

'Cause I'm darlin', politely asking
Because I'm asking you sweetly

Can't you see all the pain that I'm in
Are you unable to witness the agony I'm experiencing?

It's gettin' pretty hard to make it
It's becoming quite difficult to survive this situation

That's all the time for me, and for you
That's the extent of the duration that we have left together