RotD/Cover Me, Gary U.S. Bonds: Hold On (To What You Got)

Truthfully, I don’t know how to classify this one.

Gary U.S. Bonds released “Hold On (To What You Got)” on On the Line, but Bruce wrote it along with six other tracks on Bonds’ 1982 album. Technically, that makes Bonds’ recording a cover.

But in an open secret that Bruce finally confirmed earlier this year on his From My Home to Yours radio show, Bruce not only wrote those tracks for Bonds, he performs on them, too.

In fact, the entire E Street Band performs on them–Bruce and the band recorded the backing track together in the studio, and Gary overdubbed his lead vocals.

So perhaps it’s most accurate to credit it to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, featuring Gary U.S. Bonds on lead vocals.

No matter how you classify it, “Hold On (To What You Got)” is a terrific pop song on an album full of them. It’s not much of an exaggeration to call On the Line a secret Springsteen album, with a half-dozen original River-era pop songs written and performed by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (plus a cover of “Rendezvous” as well). Every Springsteen fan should own it.

“Hold On (To What You Got)” kicks off the album in fine power pop fashion, and it screams E Street from Max’s opening barrel roll through that glorious bridge to a coda we can imagine Bruce milking for minutes in concert.

It’s such a killer backing track, in fact, that it nearly overshadows Bruce’s lyrics. It’s tempting to dismiss Bruce’s pure pop songs as lesser compositions, but there’s some serious songwriting artistry on display here.

One of the secrets to writing a great pop song is making it easy to understand but ambiguous enough so it can’t be pinned down to a specific context, and Bruce threads that needle expertly here.

Is this an on-the-rocks love song, sung by a suitor who refuses to give up fighting for his girl? Is it a cautionary tale, a “Two Hearts“-style pep talk sung from one friend to another?  Or is it a “Badlands“-esque self-motivational anthem?

You tell me:

I work hard, baby, night and day
The things I had, somebody took away
They took away everything I had earned
But there’s one lesson that I have learned

You’ve got to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got
You’ve got to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got
You’ve got to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got
You’ve got to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got

I’ve been pushed and I’ve been knocked down
But I picked myself right back up off the ground
And baby there’s one thing that I have found
Fighting’s the only way, so stand your ground

And fight to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got
You’ve got to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got
You’ve got to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got
You’ve got to hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got

I’ve been used, I’ve been abused
I’ve had, baby, my regrets
I’ve been lost, I paid the cost
But there’s one thing I ain’t gonna forget

I’ve heard some hard lines, I’ve seen some crying times
Bad luck and trouble, they been friends of mine
Got to stand straight and stare right at your fate
And play it hard before it’s too late

And then just hold on, little girl, to what you’ve got

For my money, it’s impossible to tell, so the answer must be: it’s all of the above, which makes “Hold On (To What You Got)” a darn near perfect pop song, one that absolutely begs to be played in concert.

Someone bring a sign for this one to the next tour, please.

Hold On (To What You Got)
Recorded: Early 1982
Released: On the Line (1982)
Never performed live

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