What does Hold On mean?

Tom Waits: Hold On Meaning

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Album cover for Hold On album cover

Song Released: 1999


Hold On Lyrics

They hung a sign up in our town
"If you live it up, you won't live it down"
So she left Monte Rio, son
Just like a bullet leaves a gun
With her charcoal eyes and Monroe hips
She went and took that California trip
Well, the moon was...

  1. anonymous
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    Dec 13th 2014 !⃝

    It's a beautiful yet tragic song. It's about a young girl with dreams who wants to find her own identity. She needs to break free of the small close-minded town she grew up in. It's all she knows, but she's willing to leave to follow her dreams - and be somebody in this world. But unfortunately, what she once dreamt of has now turned into a sad spiral of addiction and defeat. The only thing she's left with are broken dreams and a devastating reality of how hard life can be.

    A side note:
    Symbolically, the narrator could be seen as God and the young woman seen as an imperfect human going through life. With God giving spiritual encouragement to 'hold on', knowing she will one day find her way in life.

  2. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 22nd 2014 !⃝

    Andrea and The Governor


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