British indie rock band - formed in Brighton, England, United Kingdom in 20… Read Full Bio ↴British indie rock band - formed in Brighton, England, United Kingdom in 2004. The band currently consists of Luke Pritchard (vocals, guitar), Hugh Harris (guitar), and Alexis Nunez (drums). They have released five studio albums; their 2006 debut Inside In/Inside Out peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart, and their 2008 follow up Konk reached number one. The Junk Of The Heart (Happy) Songfacts reports that Pritchard found himself writing lyrics containing a lot of emotional drama for their third album and the phrase ‘junk of the heart’ kept coming back to him. Junk Of The Heart was released September 12, 2011. The Kooks released two more albums: Listen (2014), and Let's Go Sunshine (2018), which both peaked within the top 20.

The Kooks formed at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, where they were all students. Lead singer and rhythm guitarist Luke Pritchard, got bassist Max Rafferty involved in a college project, which formed the base of the band. After getting lead guitarist Hugh Harris and drummer Paul Garred involved, they took their name from the song Kooks on the 1971 David Bowie album Hunky Dory. When they tried to trademark the name, they found that in the late/mid 1990s a Swedish band by the same name released an album in Sweden called Too Much is Not Enough.

The Kooks released a debut EP and played gigs around Brighton, where they were based at the time. They were signed to Virgin Records.

2. Swedish indie rock/alternative band - It consisted of members Henrik Berglund, Leo Dahlin, Michael Lohse and Josef Zackrisson, and was active between 1998 and the early 2000's. Micke Lohse and Henrik Berglund are currently members of the band Atomic Swing.

Hold On
The Kooks Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Bless my heart
Bless my soul
Didn't think i'd make it to 22 years old
There must be someone up above sayin':

"Come on brittany,
You got to come on up."
"You got to hold on..."

So, bless my heart and bless yours too
I don't know where i'm gonna go don't what
What i'm gonna do
Must be somebody up above sayin':

"Come on brittany,
You got to come on up."
"You got to hold on..."

Yeah! You got to wait!
Yeah! You got to wait!
But, i don't wanna wait!
I don't wanna wait...

So, bless my heart
Bless my mind
I got so much to do, i ain't got much time
So, must be someone up above saying:

"Come on girl!
You got to get back up!"
"You got to hold on..."

Yeah! You got to wait!
I don't wanna wait!
Well, i don't wanna wait!
No, i don't wanna wait!

"You got to hold on..."

Overall Meaning

The Kooks's song Hold On tells the story of a troubled young adult, Brittany, who is struggling to find her purpose in life even though she has a lot to do and not much time. The first two lines, "Bless my heart, bless my soul, didn't think I'd make it to 22 years old" suggest that Brittany has gone through a lot of hardships in her life, and she feels lucky to have made it this far. In the chorus part of the song, the repeated phrase "You got to hold on" is like a mantra, which is meant to encourage Brittany to hang in there and to keep fighting for her dreams. It seems like she is not alone in her struggle, and there is "someone up above" who is looking out for her and rooting for her to succeed.

The second verse reiterates the idea that Brittany is feeling lost and doesn't know where she is going or what she is going to do. However, there is still hope that she can find her way, and that hope comes from above. The bridge part of the song, where the singer repeats "Yeah! You got to wait! I don't wanna wait!" shows that Brittany is impatient, and she doesn't want to wait for her dreams to come true. This sentiment is relatable to many people because everyone wants their dreams to come true right away, but life does not work that way. The final chorus is a call to action for Brittany to hold on and not give up.

Overall, The Kooks's Hold On is a motivational song that encourages listeners to persevere through tough times and not give up on their dreams. It shows that even when things seem impossible, you are not alone and that there is always someone rooting for you.

Line by Line Meaning

Bless my heart
May my heart be blessed

Bless my soul
May my soul be blessed

Didn't think I'd make it to 22 years old
I didn't believe that I would live up to the age of 22

There must be someone up above sayin': 'Come on Brittany, You got to come on up.'
There is likely to be a being in the heavens urging me to keep going

'You got to hold on...'
You must persevere

So, bless my heart and bless yours too
Therefore, may your heart be blessed along with mine

I don't know where I'm gonna go don't what what I'm gonna do
I am uncertain about my future direction and actions

Must be somebody up above sayin': 'Come on Brittany, You got to come on up.'
There could be a presence in the celestial realm exerting influence on me to succeed

'You got to hold on...'
You must hold on tightly

Yeah! You got to wait!
You have to be patient

But, I don't wanna wait!
However, I am reluctant to wait

'You got to hold on...'
You must continue to hold on

Bless my heart, Bless my mind
Let both my heart and my mind be blessed

I got so much to do, I ain't got much time
I have an immense amount of tasks to complete with limited time

Must be someone up above saying: 'Come on girl! You got to get back up!'
There might be a supernatural entity urging me to recover

'You got to hold on...'
You must continue to persevere

No, I don't wanna wait!
No, I am not willing to wait

'You got to hold on...'
You need to hold on tightly

Contributed by Alex S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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