"Hold Me Down" by Motion City Soundtrack

Note: After recording the video and listening to the original version again, I realized that some parts of my melodies don't exactly match Justin Pierre's. So apologies to any die-hard MCS fans.

"Hold Me Down" is a song written from the perspective of a man who wakes up to find that his wife/girlfriend has left him a note explaining why she can no longer be with him. While it isn't clear whether or not the relationship is marital, in all likelihood, its one of cohabitation. But in any case, the song represents the sad consequences of non-commitment. In a society like ours, one marked by rampant divorce, this is a story that's unfortunately re-lived on a daily basis.

The song is wonderfully crafted and exhibits the kind of deceptive simplicity typical of Motion City Soundtrack. Obviously, Pierre doesn't write from a Christian perspective, but one of the things I appreciate about the song is that its mood properly corresponds to the nature of its content. In other words, the song is actually sad. It doesn't celebrate disloyalty as popular songs often do (I'm thinking Brad Paisley's "I'm Gonna Miss Her"). Pierre inadvertently depicts the pain and heartache that ensues when God's image-bearers abandon His design for marriage.

Linked below are some recommended resources that address these things from a biblical perspective:

http://bitly.com/gq0jGN - Albert Mohler, "Permanence Before Experience - The Wisdom of Marriage"

http://t.co/J47HACK - John Piper, "How should we respond to friends who are considering divorce?"

Category:

Music

Tags:

• joel
• griffis
• motion
• city
• soundtrack
• hold
• me
• down
• song
• music
• indie
• sing
• acoustic
• guitar
• cover
• solo
• macclenny
• florida
• wake
• forest
• north
• carolina

[JoelGriffis]

Thanks, Dave. I used a cheap NADY-24M USB microphone, and then just slapped some reverb on the audio, if I remember correctly.

[TheDB292]

Nice job man! I was wondering if you use a microphone to record (if so please say which) or whether you just used the in-built mic in the camera to record the sound. Keep it up cheers Dave

[julespthe5th]

G and D for the verse that is.

[julespthe5th]

Hey nice work man, it's good to see an MCR cover that's not in his insanely high voice. For all listeners he's playing a capo 1st fret, G and D for the corous. Pre-chorus is a Cadd9 I think.. (adding the 3rd fret little e string to a C major), Then finally the chorus is Em D Cadd9. Again nice work Joel keep it up.

[MrDjBa]

dude! you are really gooddd, I'm a diehard MCS fan as well, awesome cover, 5 stars

[troysvideos12]

i love how you wrote all that in the description because i have thought many times on the meaning of this song and thinking about how you could put it into a Christians perspective

[tke992]

you are making this song happy its most certainly not a happy song

[bshockey23]

From a die-hard MCS fan, this was truly amazing! You have a whole lot of talent man! Also, I couldn't agree more with what you stated about Pierre matching the mood of the lyrics. Well done, sir.