Holding Back The Years Lyrics
Thinking of the fear I've had for so long.
When somebody hears,
Listen to the fear that's gone.
Strangled by the wishes of pater,
Hoping for the arm of mater,
Get to me sooner or later,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on.
Holding back the tears.
There's nothing here has grown.
I've wasted all my tears,
Wasted all those years.
Nothing had the chance to be good,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on,
I'll keep holding on.
So tight.
Apparently it is said that Mick wrote the main lyrics referencing the fact his mother (mater) left the family and he was brought up by his father (pater), and his longing to just want to be in his mothers arms. He was 3 when she left and 17 when he wrote the lyrics body. The title came later, but it has such a special meaning for so many kids. This has been a favorite of mine since it was released, but bitter childhood memories make it hard to listen to without remembering and those feelings welling up.
if you look at the words "pater" and "mater" they mean mother and father in latin these are often used facetiously, so Mick is indirectly refering to his mother and father in the lines:
"Strangled by the wishes of pater, Hoping for the arm of mater"
you can think of a number of reasons for these lines but to me it suggests there is conflict. why he say pater and not dad or mater and not mother seems to me he wants to keep this not so obvious but then again it could be that his family used pater and mater like some people call their parents "mama and papa" in general it is a sad song but with hope, as the final line says:
"I'll keep holding on. So tight."
with the "fear" lines i feel he has kept something quiet to himself but it goes when he tells some one maybe in a song or through conversation. like they say a problem (or fear) shared is a problem halved hence the lines:
"When somebody hears, Listen to the fear that's gone."
Masonsd.. right on! Mick wrote this in an article two years ago.
Masonsd.. right on! Mick wrote this in an article two years ago.
But for Mick, 52, who was raised by his father Reg after his mother Maureen left when he was three, family life with Romy and his wife Gabriella Wesberry is all the sweeter.
But for Mick, 52, who was raised by his father Reg after his mother Maureen left when he was three, family life with Romy and his wife Gabriella Wesberry is all the sweeter.
“I never had a family. There was me and my dad, if you can count that as family, Two men in his house. So a wife and a daughter is simply completely and utterly new to me and it’s been a life changing experience. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, I am devoted...
“I never had a family. There was me and my dad, if you can count that as family, Two men in his house. So a wife and a daughter is simply completely and utterly new to me and it’s been a life changing experience. It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, I am devoted to them.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/simply-reds-mick-hucknall-on-how-1405172#ixzz2zrilvWgN Follow us: @DailyMirror on Twitter | DailyMirror on Facebook
Good comment! I thought he chose to use "mater" and "pater" because these are formal names. It's a way of keeping emotional distance from his parents, with whom he doesn't feel close enough to use affectionate names like "Mama" and "Papa".
Good comment! I thought he chose to use "mater" and "pater" because these are formal names. It's a way of keeping emotional distance from his parents, with whom he doesn't feel close enough to use affectionate names like "Mama" and "Papa".
@readinggal Spot on! I felt the same about those words signifying emotional distance. And coupled with the history given by @abutteflyloves, then "strangled by the wishes of pater" seems to imply he couldn't live up to his father's expectations of him, and he wishes he had a mother there to help comfort him from manifestations of his father's disappointment, whether that was physical or emotional abuse of some kind.
@readinggal Spot on! I felt the same about those words signifying emotional distance. And coupled with the history given by @abutteflyloves, then "strangled by the wishes of pater" seems to imply he couldn't live up to his father's expectations of him, and he wishes he had a mother there to help comfort him from manifestations of his father's disappointment, whether that was physical or emotional abuse of some kind.
'Holding back the years'lyric, in my opinion is about not wanting to go back there in memory but it still keeps coming up to be dealt with. We all want to hold back on remembering bad things in our lives.
The singer has been abused, by a domineering father. Wishes his mother was there to be the refuge, the love, the balancer. Obviously even though as an adult there is no more abuse, the fear is still deep inside which affects his life as an adult. This person has spent a long time holding it all in and trying to deal with it on their own. Crying has been a waste of time, it never changed anything, so wasted tears, wasted years. Provided the person can hold on, emotionally, then it'll be ok.
Agreed. This song goes a long way back for me. When I was little, my mom used to listen to this song a lot in the dark while nursing a bottle of wine. Therefore I came to know vicariously through her what emotional pain and regret was like. Nowadays, this song has a renewed meaning for me, since I feel exactly like what the songwriter is trying to say. I'm older now, and nothing has happened in my life. So, I've been able to experience several sides to this song, and it only grows...
Agreed. This song goes a long way back for me. When I was little, my mom used to listen to this song a lot in the dark while nursing a bottle of wine. Therefore I came to know vicariously through her what emotional pain and regret was like. Nowadays, this song has a renewed meaning for me, since I feel exactly like what the songwriter is trying to say. I'm older now, and nothing has happened in my life. So, I've been able to experience several sides to this song, and it only grows more and more poignant as the years go by.
@Cosmosgirl His Dad bought him up. It might pay to read Mick's biography. He loved his father. They were left by the mother when he was a toddler.
@Cosmosgirl His Dad bought him up. It might pay to read Mick's biography. He loved his father. They were left by the mother when he was a toddler.
I believe that the Lyric "Holding Back the Years" is about a period of time in the past and presently not taking action in his life in making it better due to fear of self worth, accomplishment and success. I think this is a song about a person that was mentally abused by his parents where the parents did not wish their child to succeed in life, leaving the now adult with fears of success and really living a happy life due to the abuse.
"Chance for me to escape from all I know" meaning he needs to get away from the destructive thoughts and fears he learned from the negative upbringing.
@Gmaddox322 Or it could've been that his parent's, particularly his father kept pushing him and pushing him to do one thing when he wanted to do something else, kinda like that kid Neil in Dead Poets Society. He wanted to be an actor and his father pushed him to study medicine, even to the point of pulling him out of the boarding school with his friends and sending him to military school to prepare to go to Harvard. That can be mentally abusive, even to the point of suicide.
@Gmaddox322 Or it could've been that his parent's, particularly his father kept pushing him and pushing him to do one thing when he wanted to do something else, kinda like that kid Neil in Dead Poets Society. He wanted to be an actor and his father pushed him to study medicine, even to the point of pulling him out of the boarding school with his friends and sending him to military school to prepare to go to Harvard. That can be mentally abusive, even to the point of suicide.
@Gmaddox322 agree
@Gmaddox322 agree
I always visualise Delboy in Only Fools And Horses (UK TV comedy programme) as this song is playing at Rodney/Cassandra's and he's all alone after they've gone ... sad song
Me too! In that respect, I think the song represents a person who has been trying to live in the same way to 'stay young' whilst watching other people in their lives moving on and growing up. For Del Boy, that meant he'd been messing around with different women and nothing had changed over the years - he was still the same whilst Rodders had grown up and moved on. In effect, he's been 'holding back the years' and realised it was time for them to catch up with him i.e. he needed to move on from the life he'd...
Me too! In that respect, I think the song represents a person who has been trying to live in the same way to 'stay young' whilst watching other people in their lives moving on and growing up. For Del Boy, that meant he'd been messing around with different women and nothing had changed over the years - he was still the same whilst Rodders had grown up and moved on. In effect, he's been 'holding back the years' and realised it was time for them to catch up with him i.e. he needed to move on from the life he'd been living. That's my interpretation anyway.
I can never listen to this without tearing up. I don't know what it is...
Me, too! It's so heartbreaking.
Me, too! It's so heartbreaking.
The song is about his mother who abandoned him and his father when he was 3 years old. "Strangled by the wishes of pater, hoping for the arm of mater" refers to his father's wish that his wife was still there. The whole song is about the devestation he and his father went through when Mick's mother left.
I thought someone would know? its about mick's mother deserting him and he was raised by his father.
Mick Hucknall is a bit of a different sort isn't he?
esta cancion significa para mi, el recorrido en la vida de un hombre que se aferra a los recuerdos y a lo vivido, a pesar de sentir que muchas cosas no salieron tan bien como el pensaba, a pesar de las carencias, a pesar de las lagrimas y el dolor, sigue aferrandose a la vida.