Hold My Hand (1994) – Hootie & the Blowfish

In my post on Wagon Wheel the other day, my friend Ashley at The Gentle Chapter told me how much she enjoyed the Darius Rucker version of the song. In a follow-up comment, Ash mentioned that her mind was blown when she learned Darius was the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish, which in turn blew me away.

Are You Hootie?

I had completely forgotten about them despite owning their debut album Cracked Rear View, which became one of the best-selling albums in U.S. history, certified 22 times platinum. They’d be pretty rich, wouldn’t they? So I revisited the album to see if there were any songs I wanted to restore and share here. And boom!

Hold My Hand was one of my favourites from the record and I was remiss to let it slip away over the years. Anyway, I’m now trying to make amends. I suppose it’s a given that a lot of music is going to fall through the cracks as so much time passes. Speaking of which, the other song I will present from Hootie down the track will be their song – Time.

I find Hold My Hand to be such an inspiring love song with that escapist, ‘let’s run away together’ romantic spirit almost like a Bob Seger song. The part I enjoy most is definitely the refrain leading up to the chorus – it’s short, but so stirring and exciting to listen to each time:

“’Cause I got a hand for you, oh
‘Cause I wanna run with you”

Hootie’s music has this ‘good times’ vibe and, through their squeaky clean charm, I almost get a Christian outreach music feel from some of their uplifting sensibilities. Their music evokes emotional responses through its inspiring messages and catchy yet sensitive sound. But they are not a Christian group per se, although Jim “Soni” Sonefeld is a devout Christian who has released several solo contemporary Christian music projects.

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Wikipedia:

Hold My Hand was the debut single from the group. All four members wrote the song in 1989. The song also includes backing vocals by David Crosby. It reached No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.

It was nice to be reunited with some of their music. Thanks for reading.

[Verse 1]
With a little love and some tenderness
We’ll walk upon the water, we’ll rise above the mess
With a little peace and some harmony
We’ll take the world together, we’ll take ’em by the hand

[Refrain]
‘Cause I got a hand for you, oh
‘Cause I wanna run with you

[Verse 2]
Yesterday, I saw you standin’ there
Your head was down, your eyes were red, no comb had touched your hair
I said, “Get up and let me see you smile
We’ll take a walk together, walk the road awhile,” ’cause

[Refrain]
‘Cause I got a hand for you (I got a hand for you)
‘Cause I wanna run with you (Won’t you let me run with you? Yeah)

[Chorus]
(Hold my hand) Want you to hold my hand
(Hold my hand) I’ll take you to a place where you can be
(Hold my hand) Anything you wanna be because
I wanna love you the best that, the best that I can

[Verse 3]
See, I was wasted and I was a-wastin’ time
‘Til I thought about your problems, I thought about your crimes
Then I stood up and then I screamed aloud
I don’t wanna be part of your problems, don’t wanna be part of your crowd, no

[Refrain]
‘Cause I got a hand for you (I got a hand for you)
‘Cause I wanna run with you (Ah, won’t you let me run with you?)

[Chorus]
(Hold my hand) Want you to hold my hand
(Hold my hand) I’ll take you to the promised land
(Hold my hand) Maybe we can’t change the world, but
I wanna love you the best that, the best that I can, yeah

References:
1. Hold My Hand (Hootie & the Blowfish song) – Wikipedia