Behind The Songs - Don't Hold Back

Many of the songs that make up Third World Sun’s first CD took a circuitous route to get to where they are today. Indeed most of them even continue to evolve since we recorded them as we continue to play them live. Because of this, I wanted to document how these songs came about before I forget and it all just becomes a blur. - Carhart

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Don’t Hold Back (Johnson, Driml, Carhart, Carhart)

Often mistaken for a simple love song, this is a worship song through and through. I had the idea of taking the pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit and carrying that through with a water metaphor. I wish that was totally my idea. Truth is, many times in the Bible, water is used as a metaphor for the Holy Spirit (we used the same concept for Pitter Patter Blues, a former Launch Pad song that TWS does live but did not make it onto the first CD). So there’s references to “my cup runneth over” and “pour out your love” “liquid gold” as well as rivers and currents. Don’t Hold Back was primarily my piece. In those days, Lori and I contributed to each other’s work without really thinking about where the ideas came from and we just put both of our names on everything. I know the lyrics are mine. Lori actually thought there were too many. Most of the chords are mine too, although Lori may have improved a few of them. Launch Pad originally recorded Don’t Hold Back as a slow worship song with some 80’s-style keyboards provided by Lori. She sang it in the Launch Pad version and I did the chorus harmonies and the bridge part. As we put together Third World Sun, an edgier vibe emerged without Lori’s presence and we amped up Don’t Hold Back as a result (this was probably Mike or Scott’s suggestion and might have even started out as a joke). I took over the vocals and we added back in the lyrics that Lori had removed (Lori was a big fan of repeating the verses and the choruses with little variation, her thinking was that it made it easier to learn in a worship setting and therefore easier for people to join in… the logic is sound and we still do it frequently, but not necessarily for every song). The harmonies that Scott and/or Mike sing now are essentially the same ones I did for the Launch Pad version. It has become one our favorites. It sounds like an upbeat love song, but it’s still a worship song. They lyrics haven’t changed. Sort of a Ramones-meets-Beatles mash-up. We often open our sets with it.