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The Penguin Discography: Hold Me




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    Song Title »
Hold Me
    Authors »
Christine McVie, Robbie Patton

    Year Written »
1982

    Lyrics »

Can you understand me
Baby, don't you hand me a line
Although it doesn't matter
You and me got plenty of time

There's nobody in the future
So baby let me hand you my love
There's no step for you to dance to
So slip your hand inside of my glove

Hold me, hold me, hold me
Hold me, hold me, hold me

I don't want no damage
But how'm I gonna manage with you
You hold the percentage
But I'm the fool payin' the dues

I'm just around the corner
If you got a minute to spare
I'll be waitin' for you
If you ever wanna be there

Hold me, hold me, hold me
Hold me, hold me, hold me

    Fan Interpretation »

Contributors to this interpretation included: Jessica Morgan, Stephanie, Ali, Silver Springs, and Christine P..

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Christine McVie often says most of her songs are not really about anyone special. They are just songs. Many people believe that Hold Me is about someone special. That person is Dennis Wilson. Mick Fleetwood felt that all of Christine's songs on Mirage, especially Hold Me, were about Dennis, as he said in his book, My Life and Adventures in Fleetwood Mac. Christine and Dennis were together for several years, beginning in 1979 during the making of the Tusk album. Their relationship was tumultuous and was likely at its worst about the time Christine was writing Hold Me. Christine and Dennis had broken up before Mirage was released in 1982, but Dennis's drowning death in late 1983 devastated her. She had loved him very much, but could not handle his destructive, wild behavior. Hold Me was a big hit for Fleetwood Mac in 1982, reaching number 4 on the charts. It remains popular today.

Can you understand me
Baby, don't you hand me a line
Although it doesn't matter
You and me got plenty of time

Christine might be ready for a confrontation with the man in her life here. Maybe he has been toying with her. She just wants him to be honest with her. He has probably lied to her in the past, so this time she wants him to know that she doesn't want the run-around. She is saying that they can take as much time as they need to discuss the problems they are having; their relationship is important enough for that.

This could also possibly refer to the "breaks" Dennis would take from Christine. He would go crazy, then leave for a while to pull himself together. Then, he would come back and Christinewould forgive him. Maybe she is saying that Dennis can take as much time as he likes to try to get over his problems with drugs and alcohol. She'll wait for him, but she he needs to know that she is not going to put up with his behavior.

There's nobody in the future
So baby let me hand you my love

Christine is telling her man that he is the only one for her. Her love is there for him to take. If he has doubts, he should not take it.

Christine may have felt at the time she was writing this song, that her relationship with Dennis was dangerously close to ending. She loved him deeply, and she desired to save it. She probably just wanted to let him know that. If he would just try, her love was strong enough to make it work.

There's no step for you to dance to
So slip your hand inside of my glove

Christine is not trying to make Dennis jump through any hoops for her (or dance to her step). She would like for him to change his ways, because that is the only way their relationship can work. He can just take her hand to get the strength. There was a lone opinion that possibly this line is sexual in nature.

Hold me, hold me, hold me
Hold me, hold me, hold me

She just wants him to hold her. She needs the love he is not giving her.

I don't want no damage
But how'm I gonna manage with you
You hold the percentage
But I'm the fool payin' the dues

She really loves the guy, but she can't handle all the crazy stuff he does. She just can't manage with him. She wants to be able to. He "holds the percentage", her love. But, she seems to be the only one who is trying to make this relationship work. She thinks she must be a fool to be doing all this.

Christine basically supported Dennis financially during their time together. He consumed huge amounts of drugs and alcohol. He wrecked her Rolls Royce beyond repair. He had a garden planted for Christine, but had the bill sent to her. Mick Fleetwood wrote that she was "....tired of spending a fortune....on maintaining Dennis..."

I'm just around the corner
If you got a minute to spare
I'll be waitin' for you
If you ever wanna be there

She is reminding him again of her love for him. She is beginning to think that he just doesn't care about her anymore. But, as she said earlier in the song, she will wait for him. She is willing to be patient.

Perhaps Dennis and Christine had already gone their separate ways when this song was written. She still loved him, of course, and she was willing to take him back if he ever decided to clean up his act. This is just her way of letting him know that she still felt for him and wished they could be together.

Hold me, hold me, hold me
Hold me, hold me, hold me

She is just restating that she needs to be loved.

Hold Me is one of Christine McVie's more complicated songs. It is also one of her songs that is clearly about another person. It seems that Christine has rarely been without a man in her life. Most of them have not treated her very well, either. Maybe she felt that she needed a man to make her happy. She appeared to have still been searching for happiness at the time of the Mirage album. Christine writes a lot of positive, up tempo songs with her current husband, Eddy Quintela, to whom she has been married since 1986. Perhaps this signifies that she has finally found what she was looking for.

(The interpretations to these lyrics were compiled through discussions on the message boards of the Penguin, The Ledge. It is entirely possible that the artists had something completely different in mind.)

    Tabs »
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    Performances »
Performance #1:
Running Time 3:44
Sound Clip Listen.
Performers Mick Fleetwood (Drums), Mick Fleetwood (Percussion), John McVie (Bass), Lindsey Buckingham (Guitars), Lindsey Buckingham (Vocals), Lindsey Buckingham (Additional Keyboards), Christine McVie (Keyboards), Christine McVie (Vocals), Stevie Nicks (Vocals), Richard Dashut (Produced By), Ken Caillat (Produced By), Fleetwood Mac (Produced By), Lindsey Buckingham (Produced By), Mick Fleetwood (Produced By), John McVie (Produced By), Christine McVie (Produced By), Stevie Nicks (Produced By)
CommentsChart: Billboard US Hot 100 Singles Peak Position: 4 Peak Dates: Jul 24, 1982 - Jul 31, 1982 - Aug 7, 1982 - Aug 14, 1982 - Aug 21, 1982 - Aug 28, 1982 - Sep 4, 1982 Weeks On Charts: 17
Appears On
The Very Best Of Fleetwood Mac (2002)
Fleetwood Mac
Greatest Hits (1988)
Fleetwood Mac
Mirage (1982)
Fleetwood Mac
Selections From 25 Years: The Chain (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Super Stars In Digital (1985)
Various Artists
Sounds Of The Eighties: The Rockin' Eighties (0000)
Various Artists
Up Close (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Rock Stars (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Startrak Profiles (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac: Mirage (0000)
Warner Brothers Publications Inc.
The Best Of Fleetwood Mac (0000)
Warner Brothers Publications Inc.
Fleetwood Mac: Anthology Of Classics (1989)
Warner Brothers Publications Inc.
Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits (0000)
Warner Brothers Publications Inc.
Hold Me/Eyes Of The World (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Hold Me/Hold Me (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Hold Me/No Questions Asked (0000)
Fleetwood Mac
Hold Me/No Questions Asked/I Loved Another Woman (0000)
Fleetwood Mac

    Comments »

(C) 1982 Fleetwood Mac Music (BMI)/Red Snapper Music (ASCAP) All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.

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    Last Modified »
2008-05-12

    Discography Credits »
Lyrics contributed by Jeff Kenney and Marty Adelson. Interpretation prepared by Jessica Morgan.