Greg Holden is no exception. Having only begun his solo journey in June 2007, he has had his fair share of luck to help him along the way. Having spent his late teens and early twenties squashed into vans with his band mates, playing gig after gig, in town after town, spending pound after pound with little hope of a career in the music industry, Greg was losing his ambition and decided to put down his electric guitar and pick up his acoustic, something he had wanted to do ever since he began playing at the age of 17.
With a huge influence from older artists such as Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash to more recent writers such as Damien Rice and Ray Lamontagne, Greg Holden’s music has been described as “Soulful”, “Melodically Beautiful” and “Incredibly Genuine”. In today’s music world, being original is almost an impossibility, the market is over-crowded with every sort of music genre imaginable. That doesn’t mean that you can’t sing from your soul, it doesn’t mean you can’t believe in what you are writing about and it doesn’t mean you can’t play from your heart. This is something that Greg Holden does well and anyone who has seen one of his live performances will tell you the same.
In July 2007, Greg was invited to New York City by Music Producer Nunzio Signore. Nunzio spotted him playing at a small venue in Brighton where Greg was living at the time. This was the lucky break that Greg needed and it was this opportunity that resulted in Greg’s debut EP, ‘Run, Don’t Walk’ which is currently available from iTunes. It was in New York that Greg met his manager, David Margolis.
Upon his return from an inspiring trip to New York, Greg decided to leave Brighton in pursuit of bigger things and focus his attention on the only place he felt compared to New York, London. Ironically, Greg’s next installment of good luck came from the place he had just left, you guessed it...Brighton.
A successful writer and producer named Richard “Biff” Stannard came across Greg’s music and invited him into session. Unbeknown to Greg, Biff’s modest discography included names such as U2, David Gray, The Spice Girls, Kylie Minogue, Will Young and many more huge names in the industry. Not only this but mixing the session was another well-known name in the music industry, Studio Engineer Ash Howes who boasted his own catalogue of artists including Nelly Furtado and The Eagles. Greg believed this whole event was meant to happen. To him it was a sign that what he was doing was indeed the right thing, and that giving up on his music career was no longer an option.
In January 2008 Greg started a small video series on YouTube called ‘The Living Room Series’, which was a simple concept involving himself, his guitar, a bunch of his songs and a webcam. It started off as a funny idea to showcase some of this newer material but with the help of a good friend Alex Day aka YouTube Hero 'Nerimon' it ended up becoming a YouTube smash. In its first month live Greg’s YouTube subscribers rose from 4 to 1300, and by part 10 (the final episode of that series that ended in March) his subscribers had climbed to 2,300, one of his episodes had been featured on YouTube Global, YouTube UK and also separate Countries all around the world including Austrailia, Japan and Brazil and in total his videos have been viewed over 350,000 times. That particular featured video was viewed over 200,000 times in one week! This level of exposure has changed everything for Greg, he now has groups of followers all over the world and is currently working on his new series, ‘The Not, My Living Room Series’. All these videos can be found on YouTube.
That leads us to now, September 2008. Greg has since returned to New York to complete more tracks for his debut album 'A Word In Edgeways'. Whilst over there he played Numerous shows in Manhattan and played some private showcases for some Major labels. Watch this space.
In 2011 he wrote the lost boy for serious request, wich is a action by 3fm in the Netherlands to raise money for silent disasters. In that year it went to mothers in war or has just been in war. this made him very popular and was the 2nd highest requested number just after "ode to the bouncer" by "the studio killers". and he went to number 1 inn Itunes in holland.
His YouTube account has brought him many fans.
(See www.youtube.com/gdholden)
Hold on Tight
Greg Holden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For the sake of who knows
I've been trying to explain
How it's all gonna go
I don't take my life
For granted
I've been waking up tight
Day after day
To go my way
But I don't take my life for granted
I'm gonna hold on tight
To what I've been handed
Oh
I'll try not to complain
About the things I have lost
Cause when you have something great
That just means there's a greater loss
So when you look at yourself
Tell me who do you see
Is it the person you been
Or the person that you're gonna be
Don't take your life for granted
Don't take your life for granted
Why don't you hold on tight
To what you've been handed
Oh
Oh Oh Oh
Oh
Oh Oh Oh
Oh
Oh Oh Oh
Oh Oh Oh
Don't take your life for granted
Don't take your life for granted
Don't take your life for granted
Why don't you hold on tight
To what you've been handed
Cause you just don't know how long you will have it
The lyrics of "Hold on Tight" by Greg Holden is about the importance of being grateful for what we have in life and to cherish the moments while they last. The opening lines of the song- "I've been selling my name for the sake of who knows, I've been trying to explain how it's all gonna go" suggest that he has been busy with his life and making decisions that could impact him in the future. The next two lines- "I don't take my life for granted, I've been waking up tight day after day" indicates that the singer is anxious about the future and is taking each day as it comes. He has a sense of responsibility towards his life and does not want to take anything for granted.
The chorus- "I'm gonna hold on tight to what I've been handed" emphasizes that he does not want to lose what he has in life, and wants to protect it from any negative influences. There is a sense of optimism despite the struggles, because he believes that eventually everything will work out fine- "Hope is taking it's time to go my way". The following lines- "Cause when you have something great, that just means there's a greater loss" suggest that if we do not appreciate what we have and take it for granted, we might lose it. It is essential to treasure our blessings and be thankful for them.
The last verse of the song- "So when you look at yourself, tell me who do you see, is it the person you been, or the person that you're gonna be" asks the listener to ponder and introspect about themselves. This line leads to the conclusion that our life is what we make of it and it can change for the good or bad depending on the choices we make. The repetition of "Don't take your life for granted" in the ending emphasizes the importance of holding on tight to what we have and not to lose sight of the good things in life.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been selling my name
I've been making compromises and sacrifices to establish myself and make a name for myself.
For the sake of who knows
I've been doing all this without even knowing if it's worth it and if it will reap any benefits.
I've been trying to explain
I've been attempting to rationalize and make sense of everything that's been happening to me.
How it's all gonna go
Trying to foresee or predict how things will turn out in the end.
I don't take my life
I don't take my existence and all the blessings that come with it for granted.
For granted
Appreciating and acknowledging the value of what I have.
I've been waking up tight
I've been waking up feeling tense and anxious, stressed about the future
Day after day
This feeling of anxiety and tension persists daily.
Hope is taking it's time
It's taking a while for my hopes/dreams to come to fruition.
To go my way
Things are not happening exactly as I want them to, and it's causing frustration.
But I don't take my life for granted
Regardless of setbacks and frustrations, I still appreciate what I have.
I'm gonna hold on tight
I'm going to grasp tightly to all the blessings bestowed upon me.
To what I've been handed
I'm going to appreciate and make the most of everything I have been given.
I'll try not to complain
I'll endeavour not to focus too much on the things I've lost, but appreciate what I still have.
About the things I have lost
Focusing too much on the things that didn't work or didn't come to fruition.
Cause when you have something great
When you experience something truly amazing or life-changing, it's hard not to compare all other experiences to it.
That just means there's a greater loss
This comparison can make other losses or disappointments seem even greater.
So when you look at yourself
When a person reflects on themselves or their life, they can see the differences between who they currently are and who they want to become.
Tell me who do you see
As you look at yourself, which version are you focusing on- the person you currently are, or who you want to be?
Is it the person you been
Are you doing things that reflect the person you are today?
Or the person that you're gonna be
Or are you doing things that contribute to the person you want to become?
Don't take your life for granted
Don't overlook or ignore the many blessings that life has brought your way.
Why don't you hold on tight
Take hold of everything that life has offered you.
To what you've been handed
You have a unique set of blessings and opportunities that no one else does - cherish them.
Cause you just don't know how long you will have it
Life can be unpredictable and fleeting - it's important to appreciate everything while we have it.
Contributed by Julia S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mrshowoff5990
Who Else Was Brought Here,Because Of Rowdy Piper?
@montelgrossett3419
Lol
@markanthonysalcedo9233
Me
@shashwatsathe8997
Me !!!
@InuyashasWorld
I was from WWE
@rominabistrian8534
Here i am
@jamesfrost7465
Wonderful song, strong message. Thank you Jake, 'Motorcycling across America.' Love it.
@SaimanSays_
Thank you WWE for introducing me to this quality music. #RIPHotRod
@umeshvishnoi860
That's why I subscribed your channel brother you are great pro wrestling fan like me love you brother
@thepronoob1972
You watched wrestling?