floyd,

I listened to this some time back and have just discovered that I didn't tell you how great it was. Lucky for me, though, Janice/Bud are much more eloquent that I could ever be. When they said ...

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Well, Mr jane as a songwriter I think you've pretty much set the piano on fire, walked off the stage, and left the next act cowering behind the curtains.


... if ever there was a comment that deserved a huge +1, this one has my vote.

Really, really good everything!!

All the best,
Noel

P.S. I think "Hold On" very clearly shows that the singer of a song does not have to be a character in the song - even when the lyrics are written in first person narrative. This is not something that I've thought about before.

In third person narrative, a listener can easily be told a story using she, he, they, (no "I" character) etc., and it works. As you were writing these lyrics, I suspect you seriously pondered whether or not to use this perspective. The problem with third person narrative is that it distances the lyrics and the listener becomes an observer rather than being actively involved in the words.

By using the first person narrative (he, him, I, (no "you" character)), the listener is pulled in and is more closely associated with the lyrics. This comes from the power of "I".

To my ears, much of the emotional punch of "Hold On" comes from the effect of using the character "I/me" but not (as in the large majority of songs) employing the singer to be this character. Yet another case of inspired, 10th dan black-belt songwriting!

MY SONGS...
Audiophile BIAB 2024