How Long Has This Been Going On?

Song Meaning

The lyrics plunge into a moment of sudden, overwhelming realization. The speaker is hit with an intense wave of emotion, a mix of elation and bewildered regret. A central question echoes throughout: "How long has this been going on?" This isn't just about new love; it's about a profound awakening to something that feels like it should have been obvious all along. The speaker grapples with a sense of lost time, asking "Where have I been all these years?" There's a playful self-reproach, calling themselves "what a dunce I was before," highlighting the stark contrast between their former unawareness and current bliss. The lyrics elevate this personal discovery to an almost epic scale with the striking metaphor: "I know how Columbus felt / Finding another world." This comparison suggests a paradigm shift, a complete reorientation of the speaker's emotional landscape. The repeated question, "How long has this been going on?", transforms from simple curiosity into an insistent, almost breathless plea, underscoring the depth of this newfound connection. What makes these lyrics so effective is their ability to blend grand, almost hyperbolic declarations of joy with raw, immediate physical sensations like "chills up my spine" and the feeling of being "into heaven I'm hurled." The final lines, particularly "How long have you had my nose open," ground the earlier poeticism in a more colloquial, utterly smitten plea. It's a portrait of someone completely swept away, both amazed and slightly chagrined by the power of what they've just encountered.