"A Man Holdin' On (To a Woman Lettin' Go)" is a song written by Gene Dobbins, John Ramey and Bobby Taylor, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Ty Herndon Boyd Tyrone Herndon (born May 2, 1962), known professionally as Ty Herndon, is an American country music singer and songwriter. His music career began in the 1980s as a member of the Tennessee River Boys, a predecessor to the country band Diamon ...

. It was released in March 1998 as the first single from his album ''

Big Hopes ''Big Hopes'' is the third studio album by American country music artist Ty Herndon. It features the singles "A Man Holding On (To a Woman Lettin' Go)", "It Must Be Love", and "Hands of a Working Man". These songs peaked at #5, #1, and #5, respecti ...

''. The song reached number 5 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart in July 1998.

Content

The song offers up different lyrical snapshots of men in difficult transitions. These include a woman losing her

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

, a lady who has broken up with a man who turns to drink, a father "walking his daughter down the aisle" at a

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

, and an old man whose wife is dying. In each case, a man is struggling to hold on to "a woman letting go".

Critical reception

Larry Flick, of ''

'' magazine reviewed the song favorably saying that the "caliber of the song, combined with Herndon's strong vocal performance and Byron Gallimore's skilled production, should guarantee it heavy airplay."''

'', March 21, 1998

Music video

The music video was directed by

Steven Goldmann Steven Harvey Goldmann (August 18, 1961 – April 30, 2015) was a Canadian music video and film director. He directed over 200 music videos. Goldmann also directed the movies ''Broken Bridges'' and ''Trailer Park of Terror'', and additionally ...

and premiered in early 1998.

Chart performance

"A Man Holdin' On" debuted at number 74 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles & Tracks for the week of March 28, 1998.

Year-end charts

References

1998 singles Ty Herndon songs Song recordings produced by Byron Gallimore Epic Records singles Music videos directed by Steven Goldmann 1998 songs Songs written by Gene Dobbins {{1998-country-song-stub