Hold On

"Hold On" was released as a double A-side single along with "Bottle Living" and is also the second track on Paper Monsters.

Lyrics

Dave's Take

"There is something about it that is very simple, but at the same time it's very big. It's just a kind of universal sentiment, but for myself as well. The message in there is, 'hang in there, you've got to keep pushing and you've got to hold on to your ideas and dreams.' I guess you know in some ways the song is also about God, and what I feel God is to me. And, you know — whatever you want to call it — this power, the universe. It first came about lyrically because I felt like I'd been tested. I'm always being tested in different areas and I realised they weren't really tests — they were gifts. They were chances given to me to make a change, take a different road with something. I wanted to have a bluesy, country feel to it but it's got a very modern edge to it, and I wanted a simple chorus. There's something about the way Knox played certain chords, he had this little chord formation and I had these words and a couple of verses, and this idea for it to be just two words — 'hold on'. He started playing and I started singing the melody over the top, and it was just right. It really had nothing to do with either of us when we were writing."¹

My Take

"Is simplicity best? Or simply the easiest?"² It's safe to say that this simple little song is my favorite on the whole album, and probably up there as one of my favorite Dave Gahan songs, period. The tune is very, very simple. The lyrics are minimal and vague...what are the "things" that Dave is receiving, for example? He has also said that this song is about the birth of his daughter, Stella Rose³, though I honestly don't know what that means. I think in conjunction with his quote from the article above, it's safe to say that when Stella Rose came along, everything changed for him, and it was definitely for the better. The instrumentation is also very un-Depeche Mode-sounding. Featuring a slide guitar, the tune sounds very country-like or folk rock-like. Dave's vocals are subdued, and I must say, I really like the little jump up an octave that he does in the second verse in the second instance of "these things." Those who say that Dave's voice is not very dynamic have only got to hear this song.

Music Video

There is no music video for this song, but I will share one of my favorite renditions of it. This video was originally included on the DVD that accompanied the Paper Monsters special edition CD release and features Dave Gahan and Knox Chandler performing the song in a stripped-down acoustic form in Electric Lady Studios in New York.

References

1. "New Life New Life", 9 to 5/MW (June 2, 2003)
2. "Judas", Depeche Mode (1993)
3. "Depeche Mode's Dave Gahan Working on Solo Debut", MTV News (May 9, 2002)