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Holding On for Life Lyrics
Girl take a seat, rest your weary bones
your secrets safe in my hands
tell me about the years and let me buy an hour
maybe help me to understand
ain't nobody callin, ain't nobody home
what a lovely day to be lonely
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
light another cigarette, burning in the cold
waiting on the street for your man
you're trying not to look so young and miserable
you gotta get your kicks while you can
in the Latin Quarter, sitting on your own
what a lovely day to be lonely
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
well you might belong to another time
still you have to carry on here
no where else to go and you never know
what to hide and what to show.
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
your secrets safe in my hands
tell me about the years and let me buy an hour
maybe help me to understand
ain't nobody callin, ain't nobody home
what a lovely day to be lonely
holding on for love.
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
waiting on the street for your man
you're trying not to look so young and miserable
you gotta get your kicks while you can
in the Latin Quarter, sitting on your own
what a lovely day to be lonely
holding on for love.
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
still you have to carry on here
no where else to go and you never know
what to hide and what to show.
holding on for love.
you're holding on for life, holding on for life
holding on for love.
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It sounds to me like it's about a lonely girl, from the perspective of a guy who knows her, and watching her living her life and being unhappy. It sounds like he just wants to understand the girl if she opens up to him.
A guy runs into an old friend only to find out that she is now a prostitute. That's all I got.
@jph1504 Actually I didn't see this until after I commented. I tend to agree with you on the prostitution view.
@jph1504 Actually I didn't see this until after I commented. I tend to agree with you on the prostitution view.
I thought he was talking about a Prostitute, but I wouldn't wager my home on that being fact. That's all I got, I suppose I could make an argument to support my opinion, but Sponge Bob is on in 11 minutes and does my opinion really matter? To me the answer is definite no! However I do enjoy reading others opinions and perspectives on Great songs, far more than I enjoy voicing my own. <3
I also got the 'prostitute' vibe from the song.
It feels like in the first verse he's merely a kind stranger trying to 'give a girl a break' as it were, but that kind of feels too random to me. (Someone else here mentioned that he could be speaking to an old friend who is now a prostitute, feels like this could work too.) The part where Mercer says "Let me buy an hour" is almost like a pittance to this poor girl he's trying to better understand. It could almost be seen as an insult were it not coming from such a place of kindness. But taken less literally, it could almost mean meeting up with an old friend for coffee to catch up.
The second verse sounds like he's describing a typical night for her. (This is the part that makes me question the prostitute theory.) When he says "waiting for your man" it makes me wonder who ('caller', pimp, boyfriend?) and it almost makes the whole song seem about this poor girl's life, so fraught with disappointments that she's become numb to it.
You don't have to be alone to be lonely.