1/31/24: We Hold On

Straining against the faith, measured out in coffee breaks

How many times
Do we tire of all the little battles,
Threaten to call it quits,
Tempted to cut and run?

“We Hold On” is the sister song to “Working Man.” Lyrically, they cover the same ground: professional burnout; malaise; the act of staying in a job, relationship, or other pursuit that isn’t right. But they’re not clones of one another. “Working Man” tells a story—a universal one, perhaps, but a narrative in which time passes and the character makes choices (or at least begins to do so). “We Hold On,” however, is more of a philosophical treatise, listing out the litany of rhetorical questions we ask ourselves before noping out into the sunset.

They’re both solid songs. But only one of them is a live concert staple. The power of storytelling, I suppose.

In neither song do we learn why the characters “hold on” to an unsustainable situation, whether they do it from a sense of commitment, financial stability, pros outweighing cons. Pragmatism doesn’t matter. Because (once your immediate needs are met) all the good reasons in the world to “hold on” won’t make you happy, not if you’re stuck doing something that makes you unhappy.

The rhythm section is reminiscent of a train; you can hear it best in the drums around the start of the second verse and in the bass on the choruses. It’s a clever musical metaphor for the inescapable misery, which is underscored by the discordance of Alex’s guitar solo, which echoes the discord in the narrator’s mind.

Together it describes just how cacophonous your inner life can feel when you’re doing something you’re not meant to do.