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

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

I’ll keep hold­ing on
I’ll keep hold­ing on
I’ll keep hold­ing on
I’ll keep hold­ing on
So tight

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

I’ll keep hold­ing on
I’ll keep hold­ing on
I’ll keep hold­ing on
I’ll keep hold­ing on
Hold­ing, hold­ing, holding

That’s all I have today
It’s all I have to say

Single Release Information

ELEKTRA
First Release: Novem­ber 1985
EKR29 7″
1. Hold­ing Back The Years
2. I Won’t Feel Bad
EKR29P 7″ Lim­ited Edi­tion Head Shaped Pic­ture Disc
EKR29F 7″ Lim­ited Edi­tion Gate­fold Sleeve With Poster
EKR29T 12″
1. Hold­ing Back The Years (Exten­ded Mix)
2. I Won’t Feel Bad
3. Drown­ing In My Own Tears

WEA
Second Release: June 1986
YZ70 7″
1. Hold­ing Back The Years
2. Drown­ing In My Own Tears
YZ70T 12″
1. Hold­ing Back The Years (Exten­ded Mix)
2. Pic­ture Book (In Dub)
3. Drown­ing In My Own Tears

Cred­its

Words Mick Hucknall
Music Mick Huck­nall & Neil Moss
CBS Songs/So What Ltd

Oth­er Info

This track was a single in Novem­ber 1985 and again in June 1986. It’s on the Pic­ture Book album (1985) and is also on the com­pil­a­tion albums Simply Red Greatest Hits (1996), It’s Only Love (2000) and The Greatest Hits 25 (2008