Tom Waits - 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 charcoal eyes and Monroe hips
She went and took that California trip
Well, the moon was gold, her
Hair like wind
She said don't look back just
Come on Jim

Oh you got to
Hold on, Hold on
You got to hold on
Take my hand, I'm standing right here
You gotta hold on

Well, he gave her a dimestore watch
And a ring made from a spoon
Everyone is looking for someone to blame
But you share my bed, you share my name
Well, go ahead and call the cops
You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops
She said baby, I still love you
Sometimes there's nothin left to do

Oh you got to
Hold on, hold on
You got to hold on
Take my hand, I'm standing right here, you got to
Just hold on.

Well, God bless your crooked little heart St. Louis got the best of me
I miss your broken-china voice
How I wish you were still here with me

Well, you build it up, you wreck it down
You burn your mansion to the ground
When there's nothing left to keep you here, when
You're falling behind in this
Big blue world

Oh you got to
Hold on, hold on
You got to hold on
Take my hand, I'm standing right here
You got to hold on

Down by the Riverside motel,
It's 10 below and falling
By a 99 cent store she closed her eyes
And started swaying
But it's so hard to dance that way
When it's cold and there's no music
Well your old hometown is so far away
But, inside your head there's a record
That's playing, a song called

Hold on, hold on
You really got to hold on
Take my hand, I'm standing right here
And just hold on





Other Lyrics by Artist

Rand Lyrics

Last Posts

Tom Waits Hold On Comments
  1. R.... R....

    I've had this song on repeat for a few days now. It is spiritual singing at its best. I love Tom Waits, but it's nice that he's not being too Tom Waitsy on this one, and not bothering with any sound experiments. This song doesn't need any tricks; they've got the real thing on this one, and they just let it shine.

  2. m.... m....

    Yeah, you have to hold on. No one's going to do it for you. Tom Waits has a gift for makingthings clear in an entertaining way-music is universal.What are the walking dead? They could be a Tom Waits cover band but it's probably notthat simple. Things usually aint that simple.But Tom Waits will always be one of the best.

  3. A.... B....

    Long time Waits fan... it doesn't matter how you find him, so long as you do. Stop acting holier than thou because you found Waits before the walking dead. You're not the mystic music gypsy that you think you are. You didn't come out of the womb debating Waits' material pre vs post Brennan. Just enjoy the music, don't be a dick about it, and be happy that you have something in common with someone.

  4. j.... o....

    No One can write a song like Tom...makes me cry in one and jump up and down in another...and never heard a shallow word in any verse

  5. S.... B....

    Happy Belated Birthday Tom Waits.. thanks for the music..♡♡

  6. S.... B....

    ♡♡♡

  7. W.... W....

    The best best Tom Waits ballad song ---

  8. J.... T....

    his voice and delivery always reminds me of Bruce Springsteen at 33 1/3...

    J.... T....

    But never forget who adopted who's music.

  9. A.... G....

    For years this has been my favorite Tom Waits I always feel sorrow when I listen to this song. But then the world is built on sorrow.

  10. G.... F....

    To the 197 who thumbed down 🖕, beautiful inspiring song , time waits for no man ,TOM WAITS 👍👏

  11. R.... M....

    Happy birthday tomorrow Tom, you made it to 70!

    R.... M....

    So it's today ! Here's to ya Tom ! I am so into you Tom ! Wish you were in love with a jersey girl. Wish I was the jersey girl you were in love with ....thanks for all the songs Tom . All the feelings they make me feel ....

    R.... M....

    Richard : thanks for tipping me the wink ....

  12. a.... ....

    You dont meet nazgul in coffee shop

    Ps. Burzum suck and all neo fascist will burn in suffering while circle jerking antifeminism none sense

  13. P.... H....

    Tom asked me to add drums to the song😜: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaGDQqFEfrU

  14. A.... A....

    Beautiful misery held in so many words spoke.. Filth makes the while worth the wait , Don't forget to laugh at the perverted joke.. I no longer use the needle to escape but it don't mean I don't hold the hurt from way back in Seattle... Still holding on....

  15. G.... R....

    I have ptsd from military and past jobs I have worked I listen to a lot of music to help and this is always a go to for me. It’s an amazing song

  16. J.... F....

    Love this guy! Thankyou from the UK..

  17. A.... R....

    Melhor cantor de todos os tempos que já existiu ♥️♥️

  18. S.... M....

    #misheardLyrics 1:23 min

    „Everyone's looking for someone to blame. When you share my bed, you share my name. Well, go ahead and call the cops. You don't meet Nazgûls in coffee shops ...“

  19. U.... U....

    ...jøøøs ...its a wormhole inside my head.....im medusa......

  20. n.... h....

    'A tattered coat upon a stick' Sailing to Byzantium - Yeats

    n.... h....

    It's a world full of weeping. ...

  21. N.... N....

    When you listen to his songs, you realize that there is another such poor fellow and sufferer, who feels life and its cares in the same way. It's out of the rules, it's out of politics, it's out of any crises and wars. What he does is eternal and essential. Tom waits, live happily ever after! Don't stop! Drink your Scotch, smoke your cigarette and just sit in this chair and look into the distance! You are loved! I need you! Without you, this old world will be unbearable..

    N.... N....

    Words of the real life he does write.

  22. j.... b....

    This song kept me alive one night. True story.

    j.... b....

    @joe buffalo thank you buffalo joe

    j.... b....

    I'm glad it did. And I hope you continue to find reasons to live.

    j.... b....

    @Angela Jenkins thanks Angela and yeah I do .... in fact I just found one more sweetheart. You x ( I know it sounds soppy and corny but that's how I am plus I really mean it too . The kindness of strangers buoys me up )

    j.... b....

    Reach out when you are down and out. Talk to anyone who will listen because life is worth living. Don't let it take you down. Be strong as you are needed. Hold on and persevere.

    j.... b....

    @Chuck Taylor ok .... thanks for the kind and helpful words. Happy new year !

  23. T.... H....

    "Go ahead and call the cops. You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops."

    But you can meet some GREAT girls in coffee shops.

  24. R.... A....

    Who came here after watching JoJo Rabbit? Taika knows what’s up 😭👏🏽

  25. J.... E....

    Great tune!

  26. �.... G....

    Hihetetlen, nagyon szeretem!

  27. J.... G....

    It is so hard to find a song to listen to after this one has finished, it can only be a worse song...

    J.... G....

    Come on up to the house

    J.... G....

    Not true. Plenty of better songs out there.

    J.... G....

    Take the long way home

  28. �.... G....

    Abszolút tökéletes, minden, imádom.Nagyon bírom az ilyen háttérfotókat, köszi.

  29. M.... D....

    The same night one of my best friends leaned a bit too far from a castle tower to then break his neck upon reaching the ground, we talked on the phone.
    We were discussing that we should play a good game of chess someday, while I quietly sang "hold on, hold on" you said, with that loving enthusiasm - Oh the good old Tom Waits - waking me from my dreamlike state to ask "you heard me singing?"...
    SInce then, everytime I hear this song, I hear Tom singing as if he'd known what it will mean to someone somewhere, who lost one of his best of friends that chose not to hold on

  30. M.... T....

    This song is pure gold. It’s hypnotic. I feel in a trance. Zombie like. Just a dead man walking.

  31. R.... M....

    coming to the USA from Scotland ..just love this open top car ….tom w & n Cave ..bliss ..doing the south better vibe...only kidding done the north 2000, so south here we come

    R.... M....

    That's really so intersting Ronald😲😖

  32. m.... k....

    sometimes there is nothing left to do....

  33. J.... T....

    We will.

  34. w.... a....

    Any Egyptian here listening to tom i feel you ..

    w.... a....

    Seems like great poetry doesn't know from borders or ethnicity.

  35. C.... T....

    you always find out new things together with tom waits. still the best

  36. r.... p....

    Hanno appeso un cartello fuori dalla città

    Se sei all'altezza, non sarai

    dimenticato

    Così, lei lasciò Monte Rio, ragazzo

    Proprio come una pallottola lascia un fucile

    Con gli occhi color carbone e i fianchi della Monroe

    Andò e fece quel viaggio in California

    Beh, la luna era dorata, i suoi

    capelli come il vento

    Ha detto non guardare indietro

    vai solo avanti Jim

     

    Oh devi

    tenere duro, tenere duro

    Devi tenere duro

    Prendi la mia mano, sono proprio qui

    Devi tenere duro

     

    Bene, lui le diede un orologio da quattro soldi

    E un anello ricavato da un cucchiaio

    Tutti cercano qualcuno da incolpare

    Ma condividi il mio letto, condividi il mio nome

    Bene, va avanti e chiama i poliziotti

    Non si incontrano ragazze carine nei bar

    Lei ha detto tesoro, ti amo ancora

    E a volte non c'è nient'altro da dire

     

    Oh, ma devi

    tenere duro, tenere duro

    Tesoro devi tenere duro

    Prendi la mia mano, sono proprio qui

    Devi tenere duro

     

    Bene, Dio benedica il tuo piccolo cuore ferito

    St. Louis ha il meglio di me

    Mi manca la tua voce da porcellana rotta

    Come vorrei che fossi ancora qui con me

    Bene, tu l'hai costruito, tu ora lo distruggi

    Bruci la tua casa fino alle fondamenta

    Oh, non c'è rimasto niente per tenerti qui

    Ma stai cadendo dietro a questo grande triste mondo



                                                                                       Oh devi tenere duro, tenere duro

    Piccola, devi tenere duro

    Prendi la mia mano, sono proprio qui

    Devi tenere duro

     

    Giù al Motel Riverside

    È 10 gradi sotto zero e sta calando

    In un negozio "99 cent" ha chiuso gli occhi

    e ha cominciato a muoversi

    Ma è così difficile ballare in quel modo

    Quando fa freddo e non c'è musica

    Beh la tua città natale è così lontana

    Ma, dentro la tua testa c'è un disco

    Che sta suonando una canzone chiamata

     

    tenere duro, tenere duro

    Tesoro devi tenere duro

    Prendi la mia mano, sono proprio qui

    Devi tenere duro

     

    Devi tenere duro

    Tenere duro

    Tesoro devi tenere duro

    Prendi la mia mano, sono proprio qui

    Devi tenere duro

     

    Devi tenere duro

    Tenere duro

    Tesoro devi tenere duro

    Prendi la mia mano, sono proprio qui

    Devi tenere duro

    Devi tenere duro

     

    Devi tenere duro

    Devi tenere duro

    Devi tenere duro

    Devi tenere duro

    Devi tenere duro tesoro

    Devi tenere duro ragazza

    Devi tenere duro

    Devi tenere duro

  37. N.... F....

    Their is no such thing as a perfect soul, but this man has the single most imperfect perfect soul.

  38. M.... A....

    Hi. It's 2019.05.16

    Yesterday i try to find/remember chord of this song on youtube and I spend 3 or 4 hours and nothing.
    Today when I take a shower I was turn Robin Shulz, so total oposite kind of music and thinking under shower God whic is name of that song,or musician and guess what...
    I took my mobile phone,gone to youtube and there it is Tom Waits and Hold on.
    So I don't know nothing else but God,Jesus and Holy spirit

  39. H.... D....

    TE AMO TANTO MI VIDA, TE AMO TANTO MI AMOR

  40. P.... M....

    Beth singing... (The Walking Dead) :)

  41. �.... G....

    Nagyon jó!

  42. �.... G....

    Nemrég hallottam Attila. Ez a dala nagyon tetszik!

  43. P.... M....

    Walking Dead is still a thing?

  44. J.... W....

    Unique sound in his voice that he can use so many different ways to tell his stories or present the latest poems he has wrote to his love, the world , or the rest of us that love his performances so . Love you Tom

  45. �.... G....

    Fantasztikus ez a hang, nagyon jó a zene!

  46. E.... E....

    Toumpano tragoudi

  47. T.... G....

    [Verse 1]
    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
    Oh, the moon was gold, her hair like wind
    Said, 'Don't look back just come on, Jim'

    [Chrous]
    Oh, you got to hold on, hold on
    You gotta hold on
    Take my hand, I'm standing right here
    You gotta hold on

    [Verse 2]
    Well, he gave her a dimestore watch
    And a ring made from a spoon
    Everyone's looking for someone to blame
    When you share my bed, you share my name
    Well, go ahead and call the cops
    You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops
    She said, 'Baby, I still love you'
    Sometimes there's nothin' left to do

  48. A.... B....

    Rip Grandma... Im really sorry i didnt call more seriously. 😢😢😢 this song got me in my feelings.

  49. M.... M....

    Tom Waits is outstanding! This song is definitely legendary!

  50. M.... M....

    might just be one of the ten greatest songs ever written

  51. U.... E....

    Bu şarkıyı sadece sigara icerken dinliyorum. Zaten gerisini sarki anlatıyor..

  52. l.... n....

    vibes twd ❤️

  53. S.... E....

    Those charcoal eyes & Monroe hips...

  54. A.... B....

    a musician with soul

  55. S.... A....

    I don't think I will ever forget you in anything or in anyway ❣💔

  56. D.... F....

    Música boa para encher a cara de whiskey...

  57. N.... A....

    Sometimes you do meet nice girls in coffee shops. Trust me.

  58. Z.... ....

    I hear this song is associated with some bullshit show called walking dead. Fuck off. Listen to tom waits. Remember why your life is meaningless.

    Z.... ....

    the time when this song is played walking dead was a very good show, trust me. Now it's crap.

  59. M.... B....

    Tom Waits is the only reason I'm watching The Walking Dead.

  60. D.... ....

    The walking dead ❤and you

  61. v.... v....

    why is there an extra verse in this version opposed to the other one

  62. R.... A....

    i heard dis from "the walking dead" season :3 episode -11 beautiful 😢😢

  63. T.... ....

    Great song

  64. R.... K....

    If that last verse doesn't bring tears to your eyes I don't want to know you

  65. W.... K....

    What a great song!

  66. A.... H....

    Got into tom completely by accident while thumbing thru albums in a record store (remember those) came across bone machine, took it home, played it for a few weeks I thought he was black from his voice and his blues feel.. When I found out he was white and his early albums he sounded so different like it was two artists.. Blown away

    A.... H....

    Seems like he is always evolving.

  67. I.... ....

    FUCK OFF ANDREA

  68. A.... ....

    His voice sounding as though "it was soaked in a vat of bourbon, left hanging in the smokehouse for a few months, and then taken outside and run over with a car" (Daniel Durchholz). Haha, that's dead-on.

    A.... ....

    Best one I saw was ' Toms voice sounds like he smokes tyres and drinks gasoline' but yours beats that! Love it.

  69. M.... H....

    I'm here just bcz of Tom :)

  70. G.... ....

    Tom Waits for no Man....

    His music can make me cry. ... how many late nights I stayed up with only Tom's voice keeping me going....

  71. V.... N....

    🇧🇷

  72. A.... ....

    Shit man, now this is something!

  73. G.... H....

    Back when The Walking Dead was good. Now it's the same stuff over and over. They find refuge. all is good. Insert villain. Shit goes crazy. Character dies. Repeat.

  74. B.... P....

    A cover of a tom waits song is no longer a tom waits song.

  75. f.... ....

    If you like Bruce Boss Springsteen you defenitely love this

  76. r.... -....

    J.S.S(Just Survive Somehow)

  77. T.... T....

    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
    Oh, the moon was gold, her hair like wind
    Said, "don't look back, just come on, Jim"
    Oh, you got to hold on, hold on
    You gotta hold on
    Take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on
    Well, he gave her a dimestore watch
    And a ring made from a spoon
    Everyone's looking for someone to blame
    When you share my bed, you share my name
    Well, go ahead and call the cops
    You don't meet nice girls in coffee shops
    She said, "baby, I still love you"
    Sometimes there's nothin' left to do
    Oh, but you got to hold on, hold on
    Babe, you gotta hold on and take my hand
    I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on
    Well, God bless your crooked little heart
    St. Louis got the best of me
    I miss your broken China voice
    How I wish you were still here with me
    Oh, you build it up, you wreck it down
    Then you burn your mansion to the ground
    Oh, there's nothing left to keep you here
    But when you're falling behind in this big blue world
    Oh, you've got to hold on, hold on
    Babe, you gotta hold on
    Take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on
    Down by the Riverside motel
    It's ten below and falling
    By a ninety-nine cent store
    She closed her eyes and started swaying
    But it's so hard to dance that way
    When it's cold and there's no music
    Oh, your old hometown's so far away
    But inside your head there's a record that's playing
    A song called "Hold On", hold on
    Babe, you gotta hold on
    Take my hand, I'm standing right there, you gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on, hold on
    Babe, you gotta hold on
    Take my hand, I'm standing right there, you gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on, hold on
    Babe, you gotta hold on
    And take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on, hold on
    Babe, you gotta hold on
    And take my hand, I'm standing right here, you gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on, baby
    You gotta hold on, girl
    You gotta hold on
    You gotta hold on

  78. R.... G....

    This song is a short story set to music. Like all his best songs

  79. M.... T....

    this is the best song I've ever heard.

  80. M.... H....

    Anybody know that stoner bus driver from the Simpsons? Sounds like him

  81. A.... G....

    🖒👏

  82. C.... S....

    this is one of my favorite songs by tom waits ...

  83. k.... f....

    Great Song

  84. t.... d....

    how good is that?

  85. s.... ....

    The song has a little Bruce Springsteen style

  86. D.... A....

    Amen Friend ❤️

  87. l.... ....

    Everyone’s looking for someone to blame..take my hand, stand right here. You gotta hold on

  88. L.... R....

    Esse cara é fera

  89. P.... S....

    Utter shite. What a prick.

  90. J.... M....

    I got a bad liver and a broken heart....and Small Change got rained on with his own .38..

  91. E.... A....

    a very saaaaaaaaaaaaaad song

  92. M.... D....

    Fuck I love this song ❤

  93. R.... G....

    God has truly greater things in store for you in Jesus Christ name!!!

  94. F.... T....

    No one remembers they got Tom on a punk label for one album? Fuck the walking dead idiots.

  95. D.... ....

    2017 anyone??