Songwriter: Neil Moss Mick Hucknall

Producer: Stewart Levine

[Verse 1]
Holding back the years
Thinking of the fear I've had so long
When somebody hears
Listen to the fear that's gone
Strangled by the wishes of pater
Hoping for the arms of mater
Get to me the sooner or later

[Chorus]
I'll keep holding on
I'll keep holding on

[Verse 2]
Holding back the years
Chance for me to escape from all I've known
Holding back the tears
'Cause nothing here has grown
I've wasted all my tears
Wasted all those years
And nothing had the chance to be good
Nothing ever could yeah, oh

[Chorus]
I'll keep holding on
I'll keep holding on
I'll keep holding on
I'll keep holding on
So tight

[Bridge]
I've wasted all my tears
Wasted all of those years
And nothing had the chance to be good
'Cause nothing ever could, oh, yeah
Oh...

[Chorus]
I'll keep holding on
I'll keep holding on
I'll keep holding on
I'll keep holding on
Holding, holding, holding

[Outro]
That's all I have today
It's all I have to say

Simply Red

Simply Red is a British soul and pop band. The first incarnation of the band was a punk group called The Frantic Elevators, whose seven-year run produced limited releases on local labels and ended in 1984 upon critical acclaim for their final single, “Holding Back the Years”.

By early 1985, Mick Hucknall and manager Elliot Rashman had assembled a band of local session musicians and begun to attract record company attention. The group adopted the name “Red” (after Hucknall’s nickname, denoting his hair colour) but then Mick decided it would sound better with the addition of the word ‘Simply.’

Since the mid 1980s, the band has sold more than 50 million albums.