Raised in the Djursholm district of Danderyd, Lo is an alumna of the music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet. She formed the rock band Tremblebee in 2006. After it disbanded, Lo pursued a career in songwriting and earned a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2011. Working with producers Alexander Kronlund, Max Martin and Xenomania, she became a successful songwriter, while also recording and releasing her own compositions independently.
In 2013, Lo was signed to Universal Music, Island and Polydor. The following year, Lo rose to prominence with her debut album, Queen of the Clouds. It spawned the sleeper hit single "Habits (Stay High)", which peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100, as well as "Talking Body". Her second album, Lady Wood, was released in October 2016 and debuted at number 11 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Cool Girl", became an international hit. Her follow-up records, Blue Lips (2017) and Sunshine Kitty (2019), also performed well, the latter spawning the song "Glad He's Gone", which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video.
In addition to her solo work, Lo has co-written songs for other artists, including: Lorde's "Homemade Dynamite" (2017) and Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" (2015), a song that garnered her Grammy Award and Golden Globe nominations. She has collaborated with many artists, such as Charli XCX, Flume, SG Lewis, Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue and Coldplay, among others.
How Long
Tove Lo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Have me in your hand just like that
Wish I never told ya, it's killin' me to wonder
You give, you give me empty promises of love
You're an honest man when you're drunk
Wish I never asked ya, but it's killin' me to wonder
How long? How long?
How, how long have you loved another
While I'm dreamin' of us together?
She got the best of you
Part of me always knew
How, how long have you tried to end it
While I'm blamin' myself to fix it?
How long? (How long?)
How long?
Listen to my fears, not my friends
They don't tell the truth, they like you
Wish I never told ya, it's killin' me to wonder
You give, you give me empty promises of love
You're an honest man when you're drunk
Wish I never asked ya (asked ya)
But it's killin' me to wonder (hell, yeah)
How long? How long?
How, how long have you loved another
While I'm dreamin' of us together?
She got the best of you
Part of me always knew
How, how long have you tried to end it
While I'm blamin' myself to fix it?
How long? (How long?)
I need to know
How long have you loved another
While I'm dreamin' of us together?
How long? (How long?)
How long? How long?
I know love isn't fair
I know the heart wants what it wants
There's no way to prepare
For burning, brutal rejection
I know it takes some time
To feel the pain of losin' a lie
How, how long have you loved another
While I'm dreamin' of us together?
She got the best of you (she did)
Part of me always knew (I knew)
How, how long have you tried to end it
While I'm blamin' myself to fix it?
How long? (Hey, yeah, how long?)
I need to know
How long have you loved another
While I'm dreamin' of us together?
How long? (How long? Yeah)
How long? How long?
In Tove Lo's song "How Long," the artist sings about how she likes someone who is not fully committed to her. She wishes she had never told this person her feelings and wonders how long he has loved someone else while she dreams of being with him. The lyrics indicate that he gives her empty promises of love and is only honest when he is drunk, further emphasizing the lack of genuineness in their relationship. Ultimately, she wants to know how long he has loved someone else while she has been dreaming of being with him.
The lines "I know love isn't fair/ I know the heart wants what it wants/ There's no way to prepare/ For burning, brutal rejection" indicate that Tove Lo understands the unfairness of love, and the pain of rejection but also acknowledges that the heart will want what it wants. The song expresses the internal struggle of someone who wants to be loved but is in a situation where they know that the person they like is not fully committed to them. The lyrics have a vulnerability to them that many can relate to, making the song resonate with a lot of people.
Line by Line Meaning
Try to play it cool, I like you
I'm into you, but I'm trying to act aloof
Have me in your hand just like that
You seem to have control over me effortlessly
Wish I never told ya, it's killin' me to wonder
I regret sharing my feelings, now I'm dying to know the truth
You give, you give me empty promises of love
I keep hearing what I want, but it never materializes
You're an honest man when you're drunk
You only seem to share your true feelings when you're intoxicated
Wish I never asked ya, but it's killin' me to wonder
I wish I hadn't asked you about your secrets, now I'm consumed by doubt
How long? How long?
How much time has passed without me knowing the whole truth?
How, how long have you loved another
For how long have you had feelings for someone else?
While I'm dreamin' of us together?
While I thought we were building something real?
She got the best of you
She seems to have captured your heart better than I did
Part of me always knew
I think I've had an inkling or suspicion about this for a while
How, how long have you tried to end it
How long have you been struggling to put an end to the other relationship?
While I'm blamin' myself to fix it?
While I'm busy blaming myself and trying to save our relationship?
I need to know
I can't continue living in the dark or hiding from the truth
I know love isn't fair
I accept that sometimes love can be brutal and unjust
I know the heart wants what it wants
I understand that the heart desires what it desires, even if it's not rational
There's no way to prepare
There's no way to anticipate or brace oneself for the heartbreak that may come
For burning, brutal rejection
For the intense, painful feeling of being rejected
I know it takes some time
I understand that it will take time to heal from this
To feel the pain of losin' a lie
To come to terms with the emotional loss of something that wasn't even real
How long? (Hey, yeah, how long?)
Once again, how long has this really been going on?
How long? How long? Yeah
I need to know the truth, however painful it may be
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Tove Lo, Ludvig Karl Dagsson Soederberg, Sibel Redzep, Timothy Nelson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
leandroxcx
tove lo doesn’t have a bad song this is a masterpiece
Кристина Лаврова
З
За бы
Ну где адмуждз
Caterina Del Galles
Only 8mil agree with you
Niaka La
Masterpiece''no''.
Angel Azúa
the biggest truth
there's no bad song on her whole discography, she's PURE ART
Shea Boland
She's literally incredible. I'm so so surprised she is not recognized as one of the most talented and experimental pop artists out there right now. I honestly think she leads the pop genre by miles. Selfishly though, I love that she's a hidden gem :)
Okay Okay
Timing is everything
استغفر الله
🤥
That_bitch13
@Shea Boland she did receive global recognition for “Habits” and “Talking Body”, but after that, people chose to sleep on her, which is a shame because her entire discography is heaven on earth.
nickn
no one better to be on the euphoria soundtrack, she could really do the whole soundtrack alone and for the aesthetic perfectly. the most underrated artist around right now, deserves so much recognition and it’s so happy to see she’s getting it. incredible.