Holding On To You

Holding on to You
Song by Twenty One Pilots from the album Regional at Best
Released	July 8, 2011
Format	Digital
Length	4:26
Time signature	4/4
Tempo	90
Key	E minor
Live debut	May 27 2011
Last played	April 1 2023
Composer	Twenty One Pilots
Lyricist	Tyler Joseph
Writer	Tyler Joseph
Producer	Tyler Joseph, Josh Dun
Label	Self-released
Stream / Buy
Twenty One Pilots track listing Guns For Hands Holding On To You Ode to Sleep Slowtown Car Radio Forest Glowing Eyes Kitchen Sink Anathema Lovely Ruby Trees Be Concerned Clear

Holding on to You is the 2nd track on the album, Regional at Best as well as the 2nd track on Vessel

Background

Tyler has spoken about how he was feeling when writing “Holding On To You” when he did a live performance for SiriusXM. Here he revealed that he was in doubt about continuing making music, but because he was excited about writing this song, he continued to pursue music. [1]

Versions

Studio

Title	Releas	Length	Recorded	Released	Notes
Holding on to You	Regional at Best	4:18	2010-2011	8 July 2011
Holding on to You	Vessel	4:23	11 Sep 2012	8 Jan 2013	Guns for Hands, along with other songs from Regional at Best were remastered for their next album, Vessel

Live

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHKz6Okuukg

Lyrics

Lyrics

Album version

[Verse 1] I'm taking over my body, back in control, no more shotty I bet a lot of me was lost, "T"'s uncrossed and "I"'s undotted I fought it a lot and it seems a lot like flesh is all I got Not anymore, flesh out the door, swat I must've forgot, you can't trust me I'm open a moment and close when you show it Before you know it, I'm lost at sea And now that I write and think about it and the story unfolds You should take my life, you should take my soul [Break] Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah [Chorus] You are surrounding, all my surroundings Sounding down the mountain range of my left-side brain You are surrounding, all my surroundings Twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes [Post-Chorus] (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) And I'll be holding on to you (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) And I'll be holding on to you [Verse 2] Remember the moment you know exactly where you're goin' 'Cause the next moment before you know it Time is slowin' and it's frozen still And the windowsill looks really nice, right? You think twice about your life, it probably happens at night, right? Fight it, take the pain, ignite it Tie a noose around your mind, loose enough to breathe fine And tie it to a tree, tell it, "You belong to me This ain't a noose, this is a leash And I have news for you, you must obey me" [Chorus] You are surrounding, all my surroundings Sounding down the mountain range of my left-side brain You are surrounding, all my surroundings Twisting the kaleidoscope behind both of my eyes [Bridge] Entertain my faith, entertain my faith Entertain my faith, entertain my faith Entertain my faith, entertain my faith Entertain my faith, entertain my faith Entertain my faith, entertain my faith [Breakdown] Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it? Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat? It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it? Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat? It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it? Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat? It ain't the speakers that bump hearts, it's our hearts that make the beat Lean with it, rock with it, when we gonna stop with it? Lyrics that mean nothin', we were gifted with thought Is it time to move our feet, to an introspective beat? It ain't the speakers that bump hearts and it's our hearts that make the beat [Outro] (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you (Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah) And I'll be holding on to you, and I'll be holding on to you

Lyrics meaning

Lyrics
“Holding on to You” was originally featured on Regional At Best (2011) and was later remastered for Vessel (2013). It is the first single the band released under a record label. Tyler Joseph via Rock Sound: "To have “Holding on to You” kind of be the focus track makes sense to me. It does stand in the middle of what to expect from us – having to do with a lot of different genres, the melody in this song is digestible and it’s one of my favourite chord progressions I’ve ever done. I like that the chorus only happens twice in the song which is a big no no! You are supposed to do it four or five times especially if you want to see a lot of success and have your songs on Super Bowl commercials." [1]
all meanings of the lyrics are taken from the Genius website

Sources

[1] https://genius.com/Twenty-one-pilots-holding-on-to-you-lyrics