A woman asked Christine McVie in 1984 about her solo album. She asked, "These songs sound like a woman who's in love...". Christine's reply was, "Oh yes...well, I wasn't in love when I wrote these songs but I am now..."
In that interview, Christine also said that "Got A Hold On Me", along with "The Smile I Live For" were what she would like to say to any future love. She said that as she wrote them, she imagined that she was in love. By the time the album came out, she was.
Obviously, Chris hasn't always had the best of luck in her relationships. She had been sort of "kicked in the face" by love many times. All her relationships ended in tears to the point where she could no longer remember how many tears she had cried and how many times she had been used and whatnot. Her relationship with John ended in divorce, partially caused by his drinking and partially for other reasons. And her relationship with Dennis Wilson ended in a painful separation which couldn't be completely healed before his drowning in 1983. She has gone through all this and has now set her sights on finding Mr. Right.
"You're lifting me up
Never let me down
And I smile
Whenever you're around
Ooh and I've got a feeling
It'll work out right
Can't stop thinking about you
Every day and night"
Christine is looking for that someone who'll be there for her. And when they are there, their presence lifts her up and makes her happy. She knows that when she finds that man, it'll work out and all she'll be able to think about is him.
"Ooh, I've got a love (I got somebody)
This love (got a hold on me)
Yeah, I've got a love (I got somebody)
This love (got a hold on me)"
For a while, Christine has been "walking" down a path where love was an option that often seemed to fail her. But when she finds this person she's looking for, love was gonna take a hold of her and wasn't gonna let go.
"Well, I've been in love
And I've lost
I can count the tears
But I can't count the cost
Oh, I've been down
I've been used
Now I know, I know, I know
That I just can't lose"
She is finally coming to terms with her romantic past and she's ready to move on. She lost John to alcohol and she lost Dennis to his addictions, and then he died. She can feel the pain but she can't tell the effect the pain has had on her. Christine has been down and depressed when love failed her and when she had been used by her lovers at times. Whenever that special someone comes along though, she knows that it's her time to shine in love and this time it's real and it'll last.
Luckily for Christine, as she was finishing her album, her guitarist, Todd Sharp, brought his friend into the studio to play keyboards on a track (which coincidentally ended up being "The Smile I Live For"). His name was Eddy Quintela (a.k.a. THE ONE). This happened around November. Let's just say that the couple was living together by the new year, and were married within three years.
Christine fell for the keyboardist *hard*. She had finally found the man who fit her song. Love didn't fail her this time, it had a hold on her...
(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.)
