"Holdin'" is a song written by Kelly Garrett and

Craig Wiseman Craig Michael Wiseman is an American Country music songwriter and producer, and the owner/founder of the Big Loud enterprise. He has been writing since the late 1980s, and his songs have been recorded by Lorrie Morgan, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney ...

, 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, ...

group

Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band. The band was founded in 1982 as an attraction for the Opryland USA theme park in Nashville, Tennessee, and was originally known as the Grizzly River Boys, then the Tennessee River Boys. It was fou ...

. It was released in December 1996 as the fourth and final single from their album '' IV''. It peaked at number 4 in the United States, and number 5 in Canada.

Content

The first verse begins with two young lovers holding each other in the back of a car while their parents are at home worrying that they are going too fast. The second verse occurs after their wedding. They are struggling to make ends meet with house payments but they are still holding on to love. The final verse goes to the birth of their first baby. As they look at him in the cradle, they agree that the most important lesson that they can teach him is to keep "holdin', lovin', smilin', believin'."

Critical reception

Larry Flick, of '' Billboard'' magazine reviewed the song favorably saying Diamond Rio delivers with a "hook-laden single about the joys and challenges of love." He says that Roe's vocals draws the listeners into the story and makes them care about the characters in the song. He also states that the "chorus is so contagious that they will instantly find themselves singing along."'' Billboard'', December 14, 1996

Chart performance

Year-end charts

References

1997 singles 1996 songs Diamond Rio songs Songs written by Craig Wiseman Arista Nashville singles Songs written by Kelly Garrett (songwriter) {{1996-country-song-stub