Seventeen, I'd left behind my
Pleated plaids and navy knee socks
Stumbled onto campus in my platform shoes
Feeling young and unafraid
I moved from a pa**ing grade to
Pa**ing bottles in brown wrappers
Pa**ing out in strangers rooms
It was a crazy time;
The world was unraveling
And I would cling to any line
To anyone, to anything
If I could just find my way
To feel familiar tapestry
To hold a thread of sanity
And someone said to me:
Hold on to my love
My love, my love
Hold on to my love
Now I can see it your eyes;
They look at mine defiantly
Seventeen-- no surprise
God, you look so much like me!
The style Ive seen before
The hair, the clothesits all been worn
Honey, it's the uniform
Of non-conformity
And history has her patterns
I remember seventeen-
Between the past and the future
Youre caught somewhere in the seam
And if your dreams no longer fit you
If the ones you once held dear
Start to fade and disappear
Remember- hope is here
Hold on to my love
I don't profess to know the future
Couldn't guess beyond today
This thread of hope is all I offer
If the fabrics torn away
Disillusioned, disconnected
Sometimes it's hard to see
There is method to this madness
Pattern to this tapestry
When people talk of cutting things
Cutting corners, cutting lines
Ties and losses, apron strings
Connections to another time
There's something here for you to hold
As long as you're a child of mine
This thread is strong as it is fine
I cried when I wrote this line
Hold on to my love