Occasional Forgotten Video, Santana, "Hold On"

This song was one of those songs that didn't register with me when it was a hit, then I fell in love with it years later. This was one of the earliest MTV videos-- hence, the difficultly in getting a good copy of it.

I love the story the song tells-- about someone teaching you how to love. It's ostensibly about being in love, but it could be about a lot of other things, like great times with a friend, your kids or any number of times you wish you could save in some kind of mental dvd, to be played back in detail years later.

"Just let me close my eyes, memorize
The way things are this minute
So when you're gone I can go on
If memory can hold on within it what I'm feeling
Should time try fading or stealing something away

Hold on, nothing's the same
Tell me why I feel this way
Life wouldn't be worth living without you
All along I've been the pretender
But now that's gone forever
Nobody's ever loved me like you do
Nobody's broken through"

The vid itself is a typical early eighties video, done on a soundstage on the cheap, with lots of sparklers and costumes. It's obviously set during Carnaval.



When I did a search for the video, I discovered there was one other vid for it, by the guy who wrote it, Ian Thomas. Those of you around my age may remember him as a US one-hit-wonder, with his 1973 hit "Painted Ladies." He also wrote the early eighties Manfred Mann hit "Runner."

When I watched the clip of Ian Thomas performing "Hold On" on SCTV, I thought it was SCTV'er Dave Thomas doing a spoof. I quickly realized that it wasn't Dave Thomas-- Ian Thomas is Dave Thomas' brother, and bears more than a passing resemblance to him. Again, the video and sound are not the best.



And here's a nice clean audio copy of the song. Enjoy.