Music Review: Samantha Fox "Hold On Tight"

Samantha Fox

Hold On Tight

Album: Touch Me

Year: 1986

           Samantha Fox promises a memomorable first date with her crush in the nostalgic           “Hold On Tight.”

               Fox puts her hands over his eyes and asks him if he’s ready over a jaunty guitar, setting a quaint 50s era tone. (“Okay, this is it hold on tight!”)

                 She twirls in her poodle skirt for him. She tells she’s been so excited for their date. She directs him to turn right. She says they are going to have fun tonight. She knows of some places he might haven’t heard of before. If it turns out to be a bust, it’s only five dollars they lost. He looks at her and she can’t think. He is patient and gung-ho. She’s nervous and hopes she’s making a good impression. The date is the highlight after a rough couple of months. (“Well since you told me yes, I'm out of control/We're gonna rock this town/We're gonna watch it rattle and roll/Hold on honey, hold on tight/It's only money and tonight's the night/

In answer to your question just hold on tight/Mmm... well, I'm in a whirl/A lucky girl who's found her only treasure/Being without you/Thinking about you has been my one and only pleasure.”)

            In the pre-chorus, she worked extremely hard to get to him notice her. She learned his routine and accidently on purpose ran into him a few times. She decided he was going to be hers long before he knew her name. (“Made my mind up, set my sights/Followed you morning, noon and  night/And since you've put my lonely life to flight/Hold on tight.”)

            In the chorus, she says she is going to give him the time of his life. She has wanted someone like him since she was a teenager. (“Hold on, hold on tight/Me and you're flying into heaven tonight/Hold on, hold on tight/Me and my sweet a little dynamite/Hold on, hold on tight/I've waited for you all of my life/Hold on, hold on tight/Don't let go just a hold, just a hold on tight.”)

                She says they have a lot of common and now anything is possible. Her instincts were right when she saw him. (“Well the dream machine is rolling, now you’re on board/We’re paradise found, never got that far before/Me and you honey, we’re two of a kind/We’re heading for heaven in a vertical climb/In answer to your question just hold on tight.”)

         The pre-chorus is sung again and chorus are sung again.     

           A geeked guitar has a solo.     

          The pre-chorus is sung again.

         An extended chorus is sung to end the single. (“Hold on, hold on tight…hold on, hold on tight, tight!/Me and you're flying into heaven tonight, hey!/Hold on, hold on tight/Don't let go just a hold, just a hold on.”)

            Fox’s   stark vocals clap and bounce at the thought of a new life.   There’s a part of her that seems damaged, as though she’s used to being an object.            She’s never really had anyone truly good.  It’s her shot at happiness.  She doesn’t have to be highly sexual for a guy to like her. She can just be herself.

           The innocent “Hold On Tight,” devoid of the usual explicit overtures, is a healthy break from Fox’s vixen role.