"Hold My Hand"

When I listened to “Hold My Hand” this morning, I was once again awed by the purity and magic of Michael’s voice. It’s a voice I am intimately familiar with; it’s a voice I love dearly, and in that moment when the harmonies came together in perfect unison, I loved him more than I had at any other point in my life. The song is a beautiful testament to his genius and a lasting reminder of his incredible legacy.

Knowing that this was perhaps his last known song before he died, I was struck by the profoundness of the lyrics and wondered if Michael had any idea what they would come to mean to the fans, especially now. The release of ‘Hold My Hand” at a time when the fan community is so divided, so full of anger and dissention, is uncanny. Speaking for myself only, I strongly feel that the message in this song calls for unity and love.

This life don’t last forever (hold my hand)
So tell me what we’re waitin’ for (hold my hand)
Better off being together (hold my hand)
Than being miserable alone (hold my hand)

Cause I’ve been there before
And you’ve been there before
But together we can be alright.
Cause when it gets dark and when it gets cold
We can just hold each other till we see the sunlight

So if you just hold my hand
Baby I promise that I’ll do all I can
Things will get better if you just hold my hand
Nothing can come in between us if you just hold, hold my, hold my, hold my hand.

The nights are getting darker (hold my hand)
And there’s no peace inside (hold my hand)
So why make our lives harder (hold my hand)
By fighting love, tonight.

Cause I’ve been there before
And you’ve been there before
But together we can be alright.
Cause when it gets dark and when it gets cold
We can just hold each other till we see the sunlight

So if you just hold my hand
Baby I promise that I’ll do all I can
Things will get better if you just hold my hand
Nothing can come in between us if you just hold my hand

I also feel almost as if Michael is calling us to go back to that place seventeen months ago, when we come together as a global family through our grief, pain and love for him, vowing to remember always and to carry his legacy forward. That place where we reached out our hands to each other in friendship and support not anger and hate. That place where we promised to never let go of his hand; that place before the fighting, where we stood as one ready to face the world as a united front, with the promise that his message would be forever heard.

We won’t achieve anything through anger, and if we let it consume us then it will eat away at our hearts until there is nothing left except for a hard core of bitterness. At the center of everything Michael did, was love. “It’s all about love,” he said and without love there is nothing left to fight for.

So if you just hold my hand
Baby I promise that I’ll do all I can
Things will get better if you just hold my hand
Nothing can come in between us if you just hold my hand

‘Hold My Hand‘is an R&B duet/collaboration between Akon and Michael Jackson. It was recorded in 2007.

 http://breakingnews.michaeljackson.com/

© Valmai Owens, 2010. All Rights Reserved.
No reproduction without permission from author.