Posted by How Could You is a song released by Jessie Murph in October 2022. The fans widely appreciated the song since the first time they heard it as a powerful, heartfelt track with an important message. Reading the lyrics, it seems clear that the experience behind the new single is profound, and that’s why fans wanted to know more about the meaning. In this article, we will provide all answers, and you’ll also find the complete lyrics at the end.
You can find the official streaming of the song below.
How Could You: the song lyrics & their meaning
How Could You is a song about sexual abuse, exposed from the girl’s point of view. In the lyrics, Jessie Murph poetically describes a situation where she invited a guy to her home in a moment of weakness, then set some boundaries that the guy didn’t respect. The song tells the feelings she still has toward that experience. The artist didn’t expressively share the facts that inspired that song, but that’s what she commented on Twitter when the song was released:
This is by far the most important song I’ve ever written, and I could say so much about what inspired this song and what it means to me… instead I’m gonna let this one speak for itself.
The song describes how the situation started: she invited this guy, who reached her home drunk and began manipulating her with his words. She kept refusing his demands, but he crossed all boundaries in the end and went ahead.
You said you were sober
So I let you come over
Your words pulled me closer
But your words f**k me over
I kept on denyin’
So you kept on tryin’
You went too far for closure
Too far f**ed me over
The result is left to the listeners’ imagination. The chorus explicitly describes how she feels about what happened: the artist wishes she could tear apart everything of that place in an attempt to release the weight she feels. She accuses him directly: he crossed the line she carefully marked. And the question that gives the title to this song is repeated as a desperate cry: how could you?
I could just lie here, say, “It’s okay”
When I wanna rip all the doors off this place
Set it on fire, and just walk away
So I can feel anything else but this weight
‘Cause I let you in when I needed space
And you crossed a line when I pushed you away
How could you? How could you?
The second verse shows the battle that Jessie Murph is fighting inside herself: working on her better self and developing the awareness that she would never allow something like this again if she’s in her right shape. Moreover, she remembers how he convinced her to get closer: threatening suicide, one of the most common manipulation techniques inside toxic relationships.
Better version of me never met you
Never let you in my bedroom
Oh, all those s**ty lines and cookie blinds
And cheap red white stains
Threaten suicide to change my mind
And keep me afraid
The song’s ending is again a reference to manipulation, when a toxic partner makes you feel guilty for the damaged part of the relationship, turning the truth upside down:
I once loved a liar
‘Cause he knew my name
Would rewrite the story
And make me to blame
How could you?
That’s the meaning of the lyrics inside How Could You: I let you in my apartment when I was weak, you took advantage of me, forced me, and crossed the boundaries I’ve set, and now I’m living with this weight inside me. But I know I’m a good person, I’m learning to love myself, and I will never allow this to happen again.
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The complete lyrics
You said you were sober
So I let you come over
Your words pulled me closer
But your words f**k me over
I kept on denyin’
So you kept on tryin’
You went too far for closure
Too far f**ed me over
I could just lie here, say, “It’s okay”
When I wanna rip all the doors off this place
Set it on fire, and just walk away
So I can feel anything else but this weight
‘Cause I let you in when I needed space
And you crossed a line when I pushed you away
How could you? How could you?
Oh, I more than regret you
You’ve convinced yourself, I let you
Better version of me never met you
Never let you in my bedroom
Oh, all those s**ty lines and cookie blinds
And cheap red white stains
Threaten suicide to change my mind
And keep me afraid
You want me to lie here, and say, “It’s okay”
When I wanna rip all the doors off this place
Set it on fire, and just walk away
So I can feel anything else but this weight
‘Cause I let you in when I needed space
And you crossed a line when I pushed you away
How could you? How could you?
I once loved a liar
‘Cause he knew my name
Would rewrite the story
And make me to blame
How could you?
